Eve of Destruction: 'Boom'

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MOST WOMEN WOULD know better than to answer a personal ad promising "sex to change the course of the world." Those always end in disappointment.

Even more so for Jo (Kimberly Gilbert), the potty-mouthed student who answers Jules' (Aubrey Deeker) fateful ad in Woolly Mammoth Theatre's new staging of Peter Sinn Nachtrieb's comedy "Boom."

Unfortunately for Jo, Jules is a virgin and gay and has spent much of the last several years in total isolation, and has the social skills to prove it. A literal-minded marine biologist who studies the sleep patterns of fish in his underground lab, Jules lost all his family through a series of freak accidents.

Jules intends for the pair to spend the next few years repopulating the species when a massive comet that only he has predicted destroys everything above ground in, oh, seven minutes. Which it does, and Jo finds herself trapped with an earnest but driven scientist who has purchased a massive supply of diapers and even a baster.

As one might expect, the baby-hating Jo objects. Strongly. But her attempts to escape Jules' lab are thwarted by sudden bouts of unconsciousness caused by Barbara (Sarah Marshall), a woman in a small room above the stage. Barbara provides percussion and narration and develops a story of her own as her function becomes clearer.

Thomas Kamm's set design — complete with live fish that adorably chase each other — proves essential to the story. Playwright Nachtrieb's background in biology enhances the scientific aspects of the story, and his biting dialogue provides loads of one-liners.

» Woolly Mammoth Theatre, 641 D St. NW; through Dec. 7, $38-$60; 202-393-3939. (Metro Center)

Written by Express contributor Erin Trompeter
Photo courtesy Woolly Mammoth