Locker No. 4173b

All you need in life is a place for your stuff, the late comedian George Carlin used to say. But what if you have no place for it anymore? Last year, two members of the New York Neo-Futurists, the inventive downtown theater troupe, bought two storage lockers that were up for auction in the Bronx, having been abandoned by their owners. Christopher Borg and Joey Rizzolo reportedly spent six months sifting through the more than 1,500 items: "Junk to most…but to us evidence, treasure…artifacts," they say in "Locker No. 4173b," the intriguing, clever, and occasionally surprisingly moving play they have fashioned out of their endeavor.

Borg and Rizzolo display the handful of possessions from the first locker, which they bought for $5, and tell us that they have figured out that the items belonged to a pregnant homeless woman named India, who was diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic. They base this on the evidence, including anti-psychotic drug prescriptions and a journal, excerpts from which are read by a third performer, Yeauxlanda Kay.

The second locker, the one of the title, belonged to a man named Elliot who had many more possessions and a life far more complex, including an extended family that the performers describe meticulously, based only on the items at hand. They made a rule that they would not contact the former owners.

A highlight is when, in a few brief scenes of imagined dialogue, the two men play the "characters" they have excavated. But it is as if the creators did not trust that their core enterprise would be entertaining enough, so they also stuff it with fake newsreel videos, some ukulele playing, metaphysical speculations, and explanations of the origins of various words ("obscene," they say, is from the Greek meaning "off stage"), stretching the show to an overlong two hours. They also present their findings variously as mock explorers and mock archeologists, in what seems to be an attempt to make a point about the uncertainty of archeology. It only results in an uncertain mix of tones.

Theatergoers also deserve a warning: During the course of the show, one of you will have your purse stolen.

Presented by New York Neo-Futurists at the Monkey, 37 W. 26th St., 12th floor, NYC. May 3–21. Thu.-Mon., 8 p.m. (No performances Sun., May 8, and Sat., May 14.) (212) 352-3101, (866) 811-4111, www.theatermania.com, or www.nyneofuturists.org.