The Town of No One

Tariq Hamami's intriguing dark comedy takes place in what seems like a turn-of-the-century waterfront town located at the edge of an alternative universe. The offbeat inhabitants include the middle-aged and lavishly bearded Deadmen (Michael Selkirk), who fishes dead bodies from the river and buries them; his cute, scrappy daughter, Mag (Helen McTernan); Mayor Monty (Jim Nugent), a babyish fool; and Mother May (Mary Catherine Wilson), the gruff barmaid who dispenses wisdom and semitoxic libations in about equal measure. It's a place without rules, marriage, or religion, but seeds of revolution are sown when an earnest naif from a neighboring town (James Parenti) starts a romance with Mag.

The actors deliver their lines at a brisk clip that sometimes suggests 1930s screwball comedy and at other times sounds merely rushed. Hamami's ear for colorfully hostile banter shines through nonetheless, and Ashley Rose Horton's fine Artful Dodger–esque costumes add immeasurably to the atmosphere. Rough-and-tumble it may be, but this unnamed backwater makes for a strangely inviting place to spend an evening.

Presented by Playsmiths as part of the New York International Fringe Festival at the Clemente Soto Vélez Cultural Center's Teatro Latea, 107 Suffolk St., NYC. Aug. 21–28. Remaining performances: Fri., Aug. 26, 5:45 p.m.; Sat., Aug. 27, 2:15 p.m., Sun., Aug. 28, 12:45 p.m. (866) 468-7619 or www.fringenyc.org.