Sex. Drugs (well, if Claritin counts). Name-dropping. Literature. Philosophy. Marital malaise. Money. And, yes, bathroom humor.

It’s all in a play’s work for the cast of Penobscot Theatre Company’s “The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife,” an adult comedy that runs through Nov. 4 at the Bangor Opera House. Charles Busch’s “farce without doors” had a 777-show run on Broadway, and if a recent dress rehearsal is any indication, people in the Queen City will be talking about this play long after the curtain falls in Bangor.

“I tell people it’s steamy,” said Jeri Misler, who plays Lee Green, the title character’s worldly childhood friend who resurfaces one day in the New York co-op of Marjorie and Ira Taub (wife and allergist, respectively).

It is steamy. And campy. And belly-laughing funny. Which was the appeal for New York-based director Nathan Halvorson, a regular visitor to PTC.

“I’m just really excited we’re doing a flat-out comedy,” Halvorson said. “I haven’t done one in a long time and that’s my strong suit. Well, that and musical theater. But this is a ridiculous, over-the-top play.”

Halvorson describes “Tale of the Allergist’s Wife” as the perfect play for the woman whose husband would rather watch football than come to the theater. He practically guaranteed all the men in the Greater Bangor area will love it.

“It’s certainly the naughtiest play of the season,” said Scott Levy, the theater’s producing artistic director. “It’s like a sitcom that even HBO wouldn’t air. That’s what makes it really accessible.”

Here’s the story: After a meltdown that resulted in hundreds of dollars’ worth of shattered figurines in the middle of the Disney Store, Marjorie Taub (played by AJ Mooney) has retreated to the posh Manhattan apartment she shares with her husband. Ira Taub (David Gable) is a retired allergist whose philanthropy is matched only by his ego. Marjorie’s overbearing, potty-talking mother, Frieda (Marcia Douglas), lives next door.

When Marjorie’s worldly childhood friend Lee Green knocks on the Taubs’ door – presumably apartment hunting – she turns their world upside-down. Lee has been there (Berlin when the wall fell) – and done that (eating soup with Andy Warhol, Campbell’s of course). And though Marjorie’s mother and husband aren’t fully convinced this “friend” exists, Lee drags Marjorie off the couch and back into the world.

“The women are so well-written in this play,” Misler said. “The women have such arcs, they’re so fun and alive and over-the-top and real at the same time.”

With the whoosh of a glittery cape and the click of her high-heeled boots, Lee swoops down on the Taubs like a pretty vulture. In her presence, Marjorie blossoms, Frieda complains and Ira is, well, as self-absorbed as ever. The overeducated doorman Mohammed (Shalin Agarwal) ends up being the voice of reason. Sort of.

“[Halvorson] just kept telling me to go zanier,” Agarwal said after Monday’s dress rehearsal.

Though the women in the play are local, Agarwal and Gable both hail from New York. It’s the first time in Bangor for each actor, and they’ve enjoyed the cast and crew.

“There’s no ego,” Agarwal said. “People are really professional and creative. We all really like each other … and the community’s really behind it.”

Halvorson and Levy hit the road to cast the male leads, but they both knew Mooney – a powerhouse actress from Hampden who has shone in such productions as “The Ruby Sunrise” and “Communicating Doors” – would be perfect for the complex role of Marjorie. On the one hand, she’s harried and hilarious. On the other, she’s vulnerable and protective of her family, however dysfunctional it may be.

“I always wanted to work with her in a part where she could really bite into it,” Halvorson said. “It’s funny, but the issues she’s dealing with are real.”

Though Mooney is much younger than the character she portrays, she can identify with Marjorie.

“I relate to everything. I relate to it all and I understand all of it,” said Mooney, who teaches in the University of Maine’s theater department. “I always feel like I’m growing as a person, trying to free myself and what that means, shaking it up and seeing what happens.”

When Marcia Douglas takes the stage as Frieda, she shakes it up like baking soda and vinegar in an elementary school science project.

“She’s grumpy and crotchety and pissed off, and that’s always fun,” Douglas said. “You’ve gotta give voice to that stuff. She’s just all out there.”

She might be mean and nasty, but she’s hilarious. Like the rest of the characters in this wild comedy.

“I think people deserve to have a chance to laugh,” Douglas said. “We don’t have much in our lives to make us laugh and I think it’s damn funny.”

?The Tale of the Allergist?s Wife?

Who: Penobscot Theatre Company

Where: Bangor Opera House

When: Through Nov. 4

Tickets: Start at $15

Information: 942-3333 or www.penobscottheatre.org