Playwright Peter Sinn Nachtrieb has two loves: theater and biology. In “Boom,” at the Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, he mingles the two interests, telling the story of Jules (Aubrey Deeker), a marine biology grad student who studies the sleep cycles of fish in an effort to determine details about the end of the world.
At the beginning of the play, Jules has placed a personal ad promising “sex to change the course of the world,” which is answered by a co-ed named Jo (Kimberly Gilbert), who assumes that the ad is promising just a lively sexual encounter. Jules has bigger and more scientific ideas, however, and most of the play’s first half-hour teases out the confusion inspired by the ad.
“Boom” is a very cluttered play. It includes foreboding about the end of the world, the apocalypse itself, the post-disaster era and a lot of amusing non-sequiturs and jokes aimed at distinguishing the optimists (the people Jules represents) from the pessimists (Jo’s people). It also includes an ever-present frame, personified in a museum docent-like character named Barbara. Easily the most lovable character in the play, the unflappable Barbara is played with a mixture of piquant humor and offbeat wisdom by Sarah Marshall.
Thomas Kamm’s set is a perfect visual representation of Jules’ world. It’s a scientist’s lab/home, spare and clinical, with a fish tank, computer, bed and a huge industrial-strength steel door. Above the central playing area is a balcony where Barbara stands, pulling levers, making the action on stage stop and go, and occasionally playing two kettle drums.
“Boom” is refreshing as it unabashedly tackles our origins, evolution and our species’ end, among other issues. But although director John Vreeke makes “Boom” move quickly and though the actors work well as an ensemble, the play is one and three-quarter hours long without intermission and suffers from repetitions that make it seem even longer. Ultimately, “Boom” is a cool, well thought-out experiment. But even Nachtrieb’s clever ending can’t transform his intriguing sci-fi fantasy into a theater experience as emotionally rich as it is intellectually charged.
If you go
“Boom”
Where: Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, 641 D St. NW
When: 8 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday; 2 and 7 p.m. Sunday; through Dec. 7
Tickets: $26 to $60
More info: 202-393-3939; www.woollymammoth.net
