We know some people go to pretty extreme lengths to get laid in college: pounding tequila body shots to prove their manhood, concocting secret codes with their roommates ("A sock on the doorknob means I'm scoring!"), and earning sympathy dates by posing as a frat boy whose coed girlfriend recently met a tragic end. Okay, so that last one was from Animal House.
But claiming the end of the world is coming, and that you and your sweet-cheeked lady are responsible for repopulating the species? What kind of chick would fall for a line that extreme?
That's actually the ploy used by virgin scientist Jules in
boom, a cataclysmic dark comedy receiving its New England premiere courtesy of
New Repertory Theatre, which is staging the show from February 21 through March 13 at the
Arsenal Center for the Arts (321 Arsenal Street, Watertown, 617.923.8487). But here's the catch: Jules, a graduate student in marine biology, has been observing strange behavior in fish that indicates the apocalypse is, like, totally now. So he posts a "casual encounters" ad on Craigslist to lure a willing female to his laboratory-cum-fallout shelter and engage in Earth-saving (if not Earth-shattering) sex. Is it hot in here, or is that just the Bunsen burner?
Ahem. The humor comes, of course, in the teensy, weensy details that get in the way. For one, Jules is gay, so he'd rather be begetting with a Steve than an Eve. And Jo, the game gal who answers his erotic advertisement, has all the maternal instinct of Mommy Dearest. The two go through plenty of back-and-forth banter as they try to determine whether mating season is in - or whether the world is better snuffed out. Presiding over the affair is the only other character, an aloof, mysterious narrator named Barbara, who occasionally halts the on-stage action to deliver important asides and underscore the show's philosophical questions: divine design or natural selection? Where did we come from, and where do we go?
Audiences might come away with a clearer understanding of where we fit in this crazy, temporal world - or maybe just a lot of laughs. But here's hoping boom serves as a reminder to relish each second we have, rather than rush through living like a five-minute man: in life, as in sex, every moment matters.
For tickets ($25 for general admission, $12.50 for students), visit newrep.org or call the box office at the number above.
