`Parallel Lives’ offers boisterous battle of sexes

“Parallel Lives,” which opened last week at Town Hall in Bar Harbor, is a girl story. It starts with gods — or in this case goddesses — in a brainstorming session about procreation. Who will have the baby? The woman. But won’t the man feel left out? Yes, so let’s make it painful. Is that enough? No, let’s give him a really big ego.

And voila! The battle of the sexes begins. But “Parallel Lives” makes many stops along the road of human history through a series of vignettes about Catholic schoolgirls, Jewish grandmothers, Shakespearean royalty, the dating scene and a country-and-western bar.

This vaudevillian romp was written in the late 1980s by Mo Gaffney and Kathy Najimy (now a star on the TV show “Veronica’s Closet”) and is based on their live routine “The Kathy and Mo Show” in New York City. The script won an Obie and was made into an HBO special.

Since then, it has been a favorite among small theater companies in search of meaty comic roles for women. The current production comes from New Mermaid Players, a Philadelphia-based group that showed up in Bar Harbor last year and has returned with “Parallel Lives” for a marathon run through Aug. 30.

Directed by John Rea, the show has a minimalist set, and the two actors — Jennifer Sassaman and Joy Orlemann — wear black slacks and tops, over which they layer costumes and wigs for more than a dozen segments. It’s a smart choice to keep things simple because the actors have to fly in and out of characters. Rea keeps the in-betweener blackouts lively with rocking music, but scene changes drag the show out to more than two hours.

The real hallmark of “Parallel Lives” is that it allows women to be funny — whether they are playing women, girls, guys or gods. The script can slip into preachiness and inanity at times, but largely, it’s intelligent and unafraid. Orlemann and Sassaman handle the humor with spunk and spark. They take on the roles audaciously, and the greatest pleasure of the evening is watching the easy and reliable rhythms they have developed and then infused with spontaneity.

Sassaman is particularly good at creating variety with accents, body language and a fluid face. Her brassy good looks take over the stage and she shines in nearly every role. Orlemann is more streamlined in her performances, and just as effectively capitalizes on a knack for timing and straightforward honesty. The final scene is a triumph of whirlwind acting, one that ends the show on a raucous and admirable note.

The only real holdback of the show is that too often the women’s voices get filtered through the echo of the cavernous hall, a hazard of performing in a space where sound bounces jauntily between walls.

Many moments of this production are hilarious. Others are touching. Some fall flat. But the show is entertaining enough to be called a success. Even though it may be a draw for female audiences, the show is entirely cogent for men, too. It’s not a guy-bashing show in any way. The real challenge, actually, is finding a parking space on the crowded streets of Bar Harbor.

New Mermaid Players will present “Parallel Lives,” 8 p.m. daily through Aug. 30 at Town Hall in Bar Harbor. There will be no performances Aug. 9, 10, 18 and 25. For reservations, call 288-1133.