‘History of World’: Big Picture, Starting With the Big Bang

No whispers, no shuffling, no squirming, just giggles and long stretches of rapt silence: That was the reaction at the Miles Memorial Playhouse in Santa Monica one recent weekend as kindergarten- and elementary school-age children watched Imagination Station’s latest youth theater production.

“Little Red Riding Hood” it wasn’t. The spell-binding show was “The History of the World . . . in 60 Minutes or Less.”

Performed by a fast-moving, fast-talking cast of three, the show is a veritable roller-coaster ride through the Big Bang and the Black Death, cave paintings and space travel, Chinese gunpowder and British Imperialism, the Arabic alphabet, cell division and cyberspace. With slapstick, spoofing and dead seriousness, it races through the emergence of the world’s dominant religions, the demise of civilizations, the evolution of weaponry and warfare, political ideologies, slavery, Hitler, Mao Tse-tung, Vietnam, Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., the Cold War, the fall of the Berlin Wall, Third World exploitation and environmentalism.

And all, as the title promises, in one hour.

The title has brought phone queries from parents who don’t know what to make of it; the show is a departure for the 6-year-old Imagination Station, which is known for its fairy tale romps, although physical humor, educational messages and a rich use of language are its trademarks.

“The History of the World” was conceived when the city of Santa Monica, which sponsors the company’s residency at the Miles, requested a “millennium-related” show. A “big picture” history lesson, played not only for laughs but also to impart real information, fit the bill.

“Everybody wants to be reassured that this is OK for their kid,” said Jake Eberle, who co-wrote the show with Jennifer Brandt. They perform it with their fellow founding member, Jon E. Reed.

“We gear all our shows for ages 4 and up, and even with a show like this, very sophisticated with a ton of words, there’s a zany physical thing going on. But we don’t dumb-down to the audience,” he stressed, “because they’re not dumb.”

Audience responses after the show indicate that despite the pace, the show is providing food for thought.

“I love talking to kids after this show and asking who they recognized,” Brandt said. “Martin Luther King, always. I’ve had parents tell me this play started weekend-long discussions.”

Brandt, who’s also a drama teacher at Westwood Elementary School, began researching the show last spring, keeping the focus on a global view and trying not to give weight to one civilization, religion or nation over another.

Another concern was avoiding “editorial spin. Of course, just by virtue of what we chose to include, it’s got some kind of spin on it,” she said. “[But] we tried to keep it as middle-of-the-road as possible.”

The voluminous timeline is punched up with theatrics: A genteel picnicking couple represent the first known civilization; Persia and Greece are boxers duking it out in the ring; audience members are crowned with pseudo laurel leaves at the height of the Roman Empire; and Shakespeare recites during Europe’s Renaissance.

Violent and peaceful overthrows of governments take place in a recurring, TV-style “Revolution Game,” a spoof with Reed as the unctuous host and Brandt and Eberle as contestants. One of the biggest laughs occurs when the actors become increasingly slack-jawed in front of a new invention: TV.

Laughter gives way to somberness during representations of slavery, the Holocaust and World War II. Hitler’s rise to power is conveyed with a cold strobe light flickering over the actors in a stiff, goose-stepping march.

A 9-year-old girl had a poignant reaction, Eberle said. She told him that she liked the Holocaust segment best because her grandfather was a camp survivor. “She said, ‘I was really glad you guys did that seriously.’ ”

Brandt and Eberle, humorous thirtysomethings who have collaborated so long that they finish each other’s sentences, say that with few exceptions, children’s responses have been enthusiastic and thoughtful.

“If you expect them to listen, to interact and to have interesting things to say, they will,” Brandt said.

The company has produced its first CD, “Aesop’s Fables,” and tours a 40-minute “History of Art” show to museums. It is planning further “History of” shows and has a fairy tale video series in the works. Its comic, deconstructed “Rapunzel” opens Feb. 27.

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* “The History of the World . . . in 60 Minutes or Less,” Miles Memorial Playhouse, 1130 Lincoln Blvd., Reed Park, Santa Monica, Saturdays-Sundays, 2 p.m. Ends Feb. 13. $6-$8. (310) 854-4196.