American history the way it wasn’t

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Michael Woods (from left), Adam Kander and Mat Labotka fight the Civil War in “The Complete History of America (Abridged),” at the Metropolis Performing Arts Centre.

Updated: January 17, 2012 9:32PM

“The Complete History of America (Abridged),” playing at the Metropolis Performing Arts Centre, is a nutty, creative and often lame parody rolled into one that manages to ride roughshod over 600 years of past events in less than two hours.

Enjoyment of this briskly paced production, directed by David Belew, will depend on how well one’s funny bone is attuned to bad puns, sophomoric humor, silly sight gags and over-the-top satire — all of which are served up in large measure.

At any given moment Belew’s stellar three-member ensemble is racing through various vignettes — Birth of a Nation, Fighting the War, Intolerance, Modern Times — from 1492 to the present.

Michael Woods, Adam Kander and Mat Labotka shed inhibitions as they portray multiple roles, from Italian cartographer Amerigo Vespucci debating the merit of his maps with Christopher Columbus to Betsy Ross displaying outlandish flag designs she and her sister Diana Ross conceived.

“Remembering our history,” as one of the characters observes, “is the only way we can learn from our mistakes — or blame them on someone else.”

Politically incorrect sketches are the norm. One takes the audience to Salem, Mass., for a briefing on how to spot a real witch. Another highlights a discussion between Madison, Jefferson and Franklin as they weigh in on a Bill of Wrongs to balance out the Bill of Rights. Lewis and Clark’s expedition is brought to life in a vaudevillian skit.

A mock slide show of Civil War highlights gives the players further opportunities to show off the broad range of facial expressions at their command. A sight gag recounting the assassination of a balloon-headed President Lincoln affords another chance for politically incorrect humor.

Irreverent tomfoolery continues in the second act as American soldiers, surrounded by hostile forces, escape by disguising themselves as the Andrews Sisters. A confused President Reagan tries the patience of his vice president, George H.W. Bush, in another goofy scene, and the Vietnam-era anti-war movement is glossed over in a Dr. Seuss-like rhyme.

President Obama (Kander, sporting a pair of clip-on ears) puts in an appearance and fields questions from the audience about where he was born.

The Depression, McCarthyism and conspiracy theories also figure in to the wide-ranging script. While many of its jests are half-baked and quickly sink of their own accord, there’s ample material on offer to provoke occasional guilty tittering if not outright belly laughs.

This curiosity was created by Adam Long, Reed Martin and Austin Tichenor, the same team responsible for “The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)” and a handful of similar comedies.