On the Verge’s trio of time travelers are Barbara Madison Hauck as Alex, Niki Jay as Fanny and Shelby Charé Sullivan as Mary. The play by Eric Overmyer runs at Fells Point Corner Theatre until Dec. 1. Photo by Shealyn Jae Photography

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The play On the Verge; or, the Geography of Yearning mixes science fiction, bits of American pop history, an exploration of women’s evolving societal roles, word play, and a dollop of Cool Whip (you’ll find out) into a surreally silly yet thought-provoking adventure.  

Playwright Eric Overmyer — award-winning writer and producer of TV staples like “The Wire,” “Law & Order” and “Homicide: Life on the Street” — wrote On the Verge at the beginning of his career.  

It premiered in 1985 at Baltimore’s Center Stage. The Washington Post called it “a brainy piece of whimsy” when it played at the Keegan Theatre in Washington, D.C. in 1988.  

Now, nearly 40 years later, On the Verge returns to Baltimore at Fells Point Corner Theatre. 

Simple, yet complex, plot 

The plot is simple: Three women of the Victorian era — Mary (Shelby Sullivan), Alex (Barbara Madison Hauck) and Fanny (Nikki Jay) — embark on an expedition to explore Terra Incognita, an uncharted land “west of Australia and east of Peru.”  

Along the way they encounter native people, an alligator and even the Abominable Snowman. Not unlike three Jane Porters from Disney’s Tarzan, wielding machetes and carrying rucksacks, they have exciting adventures, though not with Tarzan — just a cannibal named Alphonse (Morgan Stanton).  

However, slowly and incrementally, things start to go off the rails as the trio, slogging through swamps and crawling over craggy crevices, discover a copy of the New York Times with a story about “President Nix-ON,” as Fanny pronounces the name.  

They unearth a side mirror from a car imprinted with “Objects May Be Closer Than They Appear” and an “I Like Ike” button, along with egg-beaters from electric mixers.  

Back to the future 

Soon the future, like some virus, starts to infect their speech. Fanny seems to suddenly know all about the National Review, which wouldn’t debut until 1955, and the delights of the Jacuzzi, invented in 1968.  

Alex “osmotes” (the process by which the trio divines futuristic terms and ideas) dirigibles, which she adds to her conflation of terms like “delicious” and “delirious.” 

And did I mention the “gorge troll” (Morgan Stanton again; handily playing multiple roles) that the three encounter as they struggle across a rickety bridge, who rhymes like a 60s hippie poet or modern-day rap artist?  

“What have we here but travelers three, Comin’ cross the bridge to rap with me? In Xanadu said Ka-u-ba-la Khan, ‘Hey there, sweet things, what’s going on?’”  

They also meet Penelope Chan’s mesmerizing Madame Nhu, resplendent in an Asian “dragon lady” costume and four-inch black dagger-like nails, who dispenses fortune-cookie wisdom (and the cookies), to the trio’s delight. 

Helping interpret the past 

So, what is this all about, anyway? As the play’s protagonists trek into the future, we may find meaning in the past, specifically the early 1980s, when this play was written.  

That was a time when women began to enjoy the fruits of hard-won rights of previous years: Sally Ride, the first American woman to go to space aboard the shuttle Challenger; Sandra Day O’Connor, first female Supreme Court justice; and Princess Diana, taking England and — the world — by storm.  

This was a time when women were “on the verge” of great things, of achieving what Mary calls “the civilizing mission of women…to reduce the amount of masculinity in the world.”  

Despite the characters’ travails, the play’s message ultimately seems to be about personal triumph over obstacles, physical, emotional and cultural. It’s about hope for the future and a better way of life, where women are free to wear both hoop skirts and trousers. 

One quibble 

The play is most definitely entertaining, but one might appreciate it more by simply reading its witty, multi-syllabic passages, such as: “The bane of my many travels in the tropics is a bland, mucilaginous paste called manioc, made from the forlorn and despicable cassava, a tuber of dubious provenance.” 

Here one notices the occasional drawbacks of theater, as I (and at least one disgruntled audience member behind me) had difficulty making out the words.  

Either headset microphones or a greater effort by the actors to project their voices would help clarify the playscript’s bulky sentences. 

Despite this drawback, directors Kimberley Lynne and Penelope Chan deserve much applause for guiding this talented cast through African jungles, Himalayan peaks and even a 1950s casino resort a la Sinatra’s Rat Pack, all achieved on Fells Point Corner Theatre’s main stage.  

Costume designer Anna Hiser McGreevy demonstrates expertise with the actors’ period clothing, and Justin Nepomuceno’s simple set evokes a feeling of a world — and time — in motion. 

On The Verge continues its run at Fells Point Corner Theatre, located at 251 S. Ann Street in Upper Fells Point, through December 1. Tickets are $24 and may be purchased at fpct.org. For more information, call (410) 878-0228.