Jazz musicals about famous killers are an odd American staple, but they generally sell tickets. Composer Douglas J. Cohen aims to capitalize on the genre in his pop-pastiche adaptation of the quirky 1968 film No Way to Treat a Lady, but whether or not he succeeds can’t possibly be determined from William Pullinsi’s chintzy, cardboard production for Light Opera Works. A quartet of game actors give it their all, but the story–a down-on-his-luck actor turns to serial murder as a way to get into the New York Times–has neither the steely glamour nor the grizzly reality that complement each other so well in Chicago and Little Shop of Horrors. And the gap in quality between LOW’s accomplished main-stage productions and this clunky, el cheapo effort is oceanic. Leaving the orchestrations mostly to a multitasking synthesizer doesn’t help. Through 11/14: Fri-Sat 8 PM, Sun 3 PM. McGaw YMCA Child Care Center Auditorium, 1420 Maple, Evanston, 847-869-6300. $12-$39.