History, and laughter, speed up

Here’s a quick and easy way to bone up on American history — with the emphasis on the funny bone.

Play On! — A new Virginia Theatre will open its production of “Complete History of America (Abridged)’’ at 8 tonight in the troupe’s Theatre at Ix.

Derby Thomas will be in the director’s chair, leading a busy three-member cast — Aaron Hale, Jake Roth and Nate Wootten — through 500 years of history in about 90 minutes.

Look for vaudeville sketches, puns, word-association games and plenty of parodies. Fans will recognize not only the local luminaries — Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark— but also plenty of other famous Americans, including Ronald Reagan, Lucille Ball and Al Capone.

The play originally was produced and performed by Adam Long, Reed Martin and Austin Tichenor. Among other popular shows they created for the Reduced Shakespeare Company are “The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)’’ and “The Bible: The Complete Word of God (Abridged).’’

Play On!’s Alex Citron said the show is suitable for all but the youngest patrons, and parents could think of it as having a PG rating if it were a movie. Also, if you prefer to sit in the front few rows, don’t be surprised if it gets a bit wet in the “Shamu section.’’ The cast will re-enact famous battles from U.S. history — armed with water guns.