Photos by Maggie Hall
By Mike Hoban
‘boom’ – Written by Peter Sinn Nachtrieb; Directed by Marta Rainer; Set Design by David Towlun; Costume Design by Chelsea Kerl; Lighting Design by Emily Bearce & Graham Edmonson; Sound Design by George Cooke. Presented by Wellesley Repertory Theatre, Ruth Nagel Jones Theatre, 106 Central St. Wellesley through February 9
There’s a meteor hurtling toward Earth, and the denizens of the planet are blissfully unaware of the imminent apocalyptic devastation that will follow. All except nerdy marine biologist Jules that is, and he’s hatched a plot to save humanity, himself and his pet fish Dorothy from extinction. That’s the premise of boom, the absurd but engaging comedy now being mounted by Wellesley Rep. Skillfully directed by Marta Rainer, boom borrows elements from sources as diverse as Mystery Science Theater 3000, a ton of end-of-the-world dramas and Adam & Eve, producing a kind of rom-com with decidedly higher stakes.
After a stint studying the patterns of fish behavior in the coral reef, Jules (Nicholas Yenson) comes to the conclusion that the fish know something that we don’t – namely, that a comet is going to strike the earth and do to humans what was done to dinosaurs millions of years before. He presents his findings to his colleagues, and like every science fiction B movie ever made, they laugh at him, and he retreats to his underground shelter/apartment. But he’s not going down without a fight. Since he can’t do the job on his own, he runs a Craig’s List ad (boom was written in 2007 – before dating apps) promising “sex to change the course of the world,” and lures Jo (Chloe Nosan), a college journalism student, to help him do just that, as he surreptitiously locks her in his apartment.
His brilliant plan to save humanity has a few holes, however. One, although he’s a virgin, he’s pretty sure he’s gay, based on his not so random patterns of arousal around men. Second, the perpetually angry Jo has zero intention of having children, as she hates the very idea of babies. She also has a bizarre medical condition that causes her to lapse into a near-death-like unconsciousness whenever she tries to escape – or does she? Her condition may actually be the doing of Barbara (Stephanie Clayman), the offstage museum curator who pushes the buttons and pulls the levers (and adds cool special effects via a Space Odyssey 2001 timpani and gong) to stop and start the play’s action as she deems appropriate.
Playwright Peter Sinn Nachtrieb’s work isn’t particularly deep, but he’s a pretty solid comedy writer, making some of the more implausible situations easier to swallow, and Rainer adds some nice comic touches (like flashing a shot of the massive reserves of bourbon that will allow the combative pair to theoretically stand each other long enough to procreate), and the cast delivers the material with aplomb. Yenson’s Jules is initially a little too far over the top, particularly when he first meets Jo and tries to cryptically describe the situation that’s unfolding, but he becomes more likable as the play goes on and actually stops cowering at Jo’s every barb. Nosan keeps Jo’s constant state of being pissed off from being too one-note, especially when she channels it into obsessive note-taking for her proposed college essay, “Random Sex as the Last Glimmer of Hope in a Decaying Society,” which also serves as one of the evening’s best laughs.
As Barbara, the passionate but soon to be unemployed museum curator, Clayman helps keep the level of absurdity high, and reminds me somewhat of a kinder version of MST3K’s Dr. Forrester. As post-apocalyptic stories go, boom isn’t particularly thought-provoking (although the ending is cute), but boom works plenty well as a comedy, so it does make for a good evening of light entertainment. For tickets and information, go to: https://www.wellesleyrepertorytheatre.org
