The abandoned local library in the post-apocalyptic world of Treefall is well-stocked with Shakespeare, Superman comics, and anatomy books. But anything to do with gay history either failed to make it into the stacks or didn't survive the bio-eco calamity that has devastated the planet. At least, that's one explanation of why the self-taught band of young survivors is so at sea when it comes to same-sex attraction in this New Conservatory Theatre Center production.
The results of this ignorance are disastrous to the characters who harbor such feelings, but before playwright Henry Murray takes this final turn, he uses the conceit to portray an ad hoc recreation of civilization from bits of memories and pieces of literature. "Alack, I am undone," declaims the youngest member of a trio of survivors, paraphrasing Romeo and Juliet to register his disgust with another dinner of stewed tomatoes. Despite the seeming sophistication of his language, he mostly infantilizes his role in the all-male makeshift family. He is playing the baby, while his older compatriots adopt remnants of clothing and props to play the mommy and daddy.
The playwright offers an original take on gender, suggesting there is something primal in the need to assign roles even in the absence of the traditional duality of the sexes. But it's not an entirely happy family, as August (a compelling Josh Schell) reluctantly dons a wig, dress, and high heels at the insistence of daddy-figure Flynn (the authoritative Evan Johnson). Flynn has tried to consummate the "marriage," to August's disgust, while the baby-like Craig (a manically energetic Sal Mattos) is eager to get into daddy's pants.
The first and last thing this group needs is a girl, who arrives in the form of a tough, diminutive survivor who has been making it on her own among the marauding mobs of the cities and the poisonous world of daylight. This tomboy, who goes by the name Bug (played with edgy intensity by Corrine Robkin), disrupts the trio's tenuous unity, as August gets his first taste of heterosexual arousal, Flynn tries to play both angles, and Craig goes into a tailspin of sexual identity.
Director Ben Randle has effectively directed this unconventional play, and the production is enhanced by Kuo-Hao Lo's creative suggestions of a ruined planet. It's an imaginative world that has necessarily been woven largely of whole cloth, even if the heterosexuals-only happiness is an unexpectedly grim final message from a gay-centric theater.
Treefall will run at New Conservatory Theatre Center through Feb. 27. Tickets are $24-$40. Call 861-8972 or go to www.nctcsf.org.