GODZILLA VS. LENT
Theater Oobleck, a troupe recently transplanted from Ann Arbor, fits right in. The boys in the group look like hippies, complete with beards, flannel, and denim. The company is a collective, working in consensus without an artistic director. They write their own material, the group embellishing an idea that originates with (and is credited to) a single member. In a more contemporary vein, they fret that they don’t have enough original material by women (although women do play male roles throughout, without explanations or apologies); they also reflect more than a touch of Second City influence (though they’d probably deny it) and pepper their material with up-to-date urban angst and irony.
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But the second act picks up with Maher’s “King! Cow, Episode XIII: Graciousness and Profundity From Deepest Space,” a perverse cartoon that starts slowly and ends up both amusing and stimulating. Maher is wonderful as a deformed detective, and Dorchen is restrained enough to make it work.
