Beyond the Verge of Typical Theater

How aptly titled Wendell Theatre Group's On the Verge is.

Not only is the theater group on the brink of a growth spurt, expanding its program to just fewer than 50 members this spring, but the play's characters also border on insanity, riding across the set on mobile stage props and jesting before the show begins.

As promised, On the Verge is a light farcical comedy that uses larger-than-life characters to push slapstick humor's limits. If you're looking for the meaning of life you won't find it here, but you may learn a thing or two about "earthworks."

This odd quest for knowledge is why Mr. Gerald Levin leaves behind his wife in the city and takes a weekend trip to the country with a beautiful lady-friend, performed by Molly Fulweiler. Two worlds collide as Gerald, a feisty, city-slicker of an archaeologist played by Jordan Eccles, brings youthful librarian Ruth Hill to a farmhouse lacking electricity and running water, among other amenities. Ruth acts as "secretary for the weekend," he explains with overpowering sexual innuendo. One minor setback: The poor folk who lived in this run-down abode impulsively return from their city duplex and settle back in at home. Quite the setup for mayhem.

Wendell adopts On the Verge's British script for Southern consumption and toys with all the trailer-park stereotypes, drawls and farm-animal sound effects one would expect from a city-meets-country scene set far from the city limits. Sexual preoccupation dominates Gerald's dirty old mind, as he and the Southern men attempt to use their distinctive charm to seduce any woman who graces the stage. Dora is "the biggest of the characters", Assistant Director Josh Allen-Dicker jokes, referring to Louisa Watkins' wearing a full-body fat suit to play the part of muumuu-clad mother. With hyperbolized characters as diverse as the drunken, daisy-duke-wearing, bra-strap-showing teen and the wifebeater-clad farmhand whose libido won't quit, On the Verge is borderline hilarity.

Wendell, which started in the early '90s and went on a few years' hiatus because of funding problems, is obviously back in full swing and with more mojo than ever. In their latest production, this energy and zest comes alive. On the Verge is over-the-top, but wonderfully so.

Wendell Theatre Group's On the Verge runs Feb 6-8 at 8 p.m. and Feb 9 at 2 p.m. Admission is $7 for students, $9 for everyone else. You can get tickets on the Bryan Center Walkway or by emailing crb9@duke.edu.