Duck Soup

Do you like your theater emotionally resonant with subtle yet piercing social and political insights that would give Tom Stoppard pause? Then neither this show nor really anything else that graces The Dark Room's minuscule stage is right for you. But if you're looking for a downright silly 80 minutes of crude jokes, cruder slapstick, and punch lines you can literally shout along with by the show's end, then this adaptation of the Marx Brothers' movie classic might just be your ticket. Sure, the acting can be spotty — although Gerri Lawlor is a standout as the silent Harpo — and the general directing aesthetic appears to be "stand on this side or that side and say your lines." And yes, they should have taken even more liberties with their adaptation and given the audience additional opportunities to talk back to the stage. Yet if you're willing to leave your inner thespian at the door and throw yourself into the cheesy, homespun spirit of the thing, you will likely find yourself shouting and chuckling along. — Molly Rhodes