The Apocalypse of John

In The Apocalypse of John, the Devil (a hirsute Chris D’Amato) looks an awful lot like Kevin Smith, which is sort of fitting; the cult film director would not be out of place in Serious Theatre Collective’s catastrophic-banal, fantastical-mundane universe, where you’re as like to stumble into work with a hangover or disappoint your girlfriend as you are to get mauled by the undead or slapped by an angel. This collaboratively penned piece follows the travails of John Darrian (Michael Mraz), a would-be-heroic manchild who wakes one morning to find that Armageddon has descended. His girlfriend (Erin Salm) is prodding him about their future together, and his corporate-asshole boss (Michael Drummey) is giving him one last chance to save his job. Meanwhile, John has to come to grips with multifarious end-times calamities: Aliens, zombies, nuclear explosions and meteorological disasters are all buffeting the Earth—and he’s the only one who seems to notice that it’s happening. Directed with economy and savvy by Lizz Leiser and featuring a talented ensemble cast, the show is a riot of zippy one-liners and laugh-out-loud set pieces; it’s like watching a bunch of overgrown kids playing make-believe. (One sublime moment of silliness features a shotgun-toting John blowing away a host of hostile forces—including the weather.) The premise is a bit of a muddle, and the script could use some cutting, but plausibility is beside the point. All told, this is a damned fun party. (Visit fringenyc.org for more information.)—Jenna Scherer