Ochre House Theater's Brothers' Harvest Is a Rowdy Night Out

If you're looking for a rowdy night out, there's one more weekend to catch Ochre House Theater's latest, Brothers' Harvest. Writer and director Matthew Posey's off-the-wall comedy digs into the life of a small town girl named Indigo Sue (an irresistible Cassie Bann). It's a musical romp through her love life and a night when the whole world opens up to her, thanks to a drag race and a new love interest, Enrique (Ivan Jasso).

Never one to mince words, Posey plays with language in a crassly sharp manner here. For a play that opens with 10 minutes of genitalia jokes, Brothers' Harvest is actually doing something very clever in its script. It seems that underneath the laugh lines — of which there are many — Posey has written a play about conflict in the way we speak to one another.

From the opening scene in which the women joke about sex, love and, more darkly abuse, the bawdy mood is set. The men arrive and there's a shift in how the women talk now that an array of their lovers and exes are on the scene — a sort of territorial posturing ensues for both genders. And when two swaggering Latin brothers show up for the harvest, the posturing redirects into flirtation and testosterone-fueled displays. Indigo Sue's ex-husband/baby daddy, Boomer (Chris Sykes), begins to hurl what he believes to be Spanish insults. (None of them make sense.) Gaps in communication abound particularly when it comes to the "language of love."

What isn't lost in translation in Brothers' Harvest is the Ochre House's signature theatrical eccentricity. Brothers' Harvest is plentiful in clever tricks, both in the versatile set design by Posey and Izk Davies, and in the foot stompin' tunes from the band led by Earl Norman. Crass? Certainly. Downright funny? You betcha'.

Brothers' Harvest runs through February 20 at Ochre House Theater (825 Exposition Ave.). Tickets are $17 at the door. More at ochrehousetheater.com.