Known for his dark, deeply satirical humor and, according to the The New York Times, his "special knack for wrapping life's horrors in the primary colors of absurdist comedy," playwright Christopher Durang revels in mocking traditional social institutions.

Durang's work The Marriage of Bette and Boo, which won the Off-Broadway Obie Award, is the latest production on the university's MainStage. Images and characters which seem to come straight out of 1950s Americana immediately become a sheer comedic assault.

In director Cindy Gendrich's words, "a willingness to question our most sacred institutions" becomes a matter of the utmost importance for the audience's appreciation of the play.

While Durang derides various "sacred" institutions such as marriage and the notion of the family, he also examines to hilarious effect the irritating and depressing aspects of life.

While the play might grate on your nerves at times, the cast powerfully and skillfully portrays the ludicrous and dysfunctional nature of the two families of Bette and Boo. Durang manages to address alcoholism, isolation and death with a zany humor, making the heavier subject matter more touching to the audience.

The play spans decades and chronicles births, marriages, deaths, mental breakdowns and the ups and downs of family and married life. It opens with the marriage of the eager and naive couple Bette and Boo (seniors Cary Donaldson and Julia Schmidt) and their hurried nuptials. A cast of neurotic relatives clutters the stage, evoking the chaos and disorder of the family.

During the opening, more than a few characters speak or sing at the same time and most act cartoonishly over-the-top. The audience then immediately realizes that this tale relays a broader message about the complex and neurotic, yet often highly predictable and simplistic, interactions within families.

I must admit that I had a headache during much of the play, perhaps because much of it centered on bickering, arguing and even the occasional all-out screaming match.

Yet Durang must have wanted the audience to feel this way. Stories about dysfunctionality are never easy to watch, and this play proves no exception. But Durang's humor constantly infuses tough issues with a refreshing power.

As Bette, Schmidt convincingly portrayed her character as the naive, childish and simplistic nagging wife who drives her husband Boo to spend his evenings at the bars to escape the loneliness he feels within their marriage. The talented Donaldson shines as usual.

Other notable characters include the always dynamic sophomore Scotty Candler who plays both Father Donnally and the doctor; Candler's priceless comic scene in which he imitates a piece of bacon frying is one of the highlights of the show.

Junior Lee Norris did a superb job playing Matt, the baffled son of Bette and Boo, who doesn't know quite what to make of the discord which surrounds him. He plays both a child and later a college student who attends Dartmouth College and flies home to the divorce hearing of his parents. His monologues are interesting, and many of us can identify with the bewilderment he experiences at his family life and his efforts at making sense of his past.