[ theater ]
Smart and silly, Joy Cutler's Pardon My Invasion receives an impeccable première by director Cara Blouin in Plays & Players' 50-seat studio. Emily Gibson plays Penny, announcing, "There's a man inside me." Soon soldier Pvt. Mac takes over, requiring Gibson to play him trapped in a teen girl's body, accomplished brilliantly. Pulp fiction writer mom Jennifer Summerfield copes not only with Penny's boyfriend (Julian Cloud) and a curious cop (Theresa Leahy), but imaginary characters from her fiction and Pvt. Mac's life. Lance Kniskern's forced-perspective set is full of surprises, and the play juggles slapstick comedy, war and mother-daughter relationship issues engagingly.
Through Nov. 19, $15-$20, Plays & Players Theatre, 1714 Delancey Place, 800-595-4849, playsandplayers.org.
