[ theater ]

Brat Productions is all about grrrl power, with Jess Conda in the company's resident artist program, new general manager Melissa Rodis, and founder Madi Distefano sharing the reins of co-artistic director with Lee Ann Etzold. While Sarah Doherty and Mary McCool whoop it up on stage in Distefano's quick-change comedy, longtime Brat Etzold is in the director's chair. "Lee's a natural leader and has a positive energy that's infectious," says Distefano. "She was paramount to the recovery and reinvention of Brat." But forget about collaborators for a second: Why, after several years away from the typewriter, did Distefano return with a '30s Atlantic City switcheroo? "Nothing shows off comic chops better than a couple of actors switching characters from across the spectrum." After having worked on productions of The Mystery of Irma Vep (twice) and Greater Tuna (three times), she wanted to try her hand at something new. "Quick-change shows work best when the costumes are wildly different and fun," says Distefano. "A club owner, his wife, her lover, the singer, the detective and the damsel in distress. There's a murder and a missing jewel-encrusted ivory box." Expect double entendres, body doubles and Mel Brooks-like humor, low and loose. "We play with tropes that are present in crime noir, pulp fiction and Pulp Fiction," says Distefano, whose goal was to think about worlds inhabited by stock characters — in this case, a Boardwalk Empire -leaning crew. " MEANWHILE ... was inspired by post-prohibition A.C. and the stereotypes that come with it."

Through Nov. 19, $15-$25, RUBA Ballroom, 416 Green St., 267-601-2231, bratproductions.org.