Literary Crash Course

  Doug Jarecki enters the Tenth Street Theatre for In Tandem's production of All the Great Books (abridged) dressed as a classic version of a coach, sporting white tube socks pulled as high as they'll go and blasting a whistle from around his neck. His authoritative presence in the vague trappings of an educational setting (flags, chalkboard, basketball hoop) gives one the distinct feeling of being in public school.

  Jarecki announces the play's premise: It's only a few hours until high-school graduation and everyone in the "classroom" (the audience) needs to rush through one more crash course in literature before graduating. Eighty-nine novels will be covered in 90 minutes.

  We are then introduced to the other two guides on the literary journey: a passionate drama professor played by R. Chris Reeder and a student-teacher played by Kevin Rich.

  The show is animated by a feverish energy that bounces back and forth between the three actors. The humor moves erratically between base, groan-inducing material and highly intricate intellectual references in a way that should appeal to almost any audience. Jarecki plays the coach as a driven educator who will not accept defeat, but also adds a competitive aspect to his character that keeps him from becoming the dumb-jock stereotype. He drives the other two into a bewildering yet comprehensive presentation of the plot from War and Peace that features clever cameos from dozens of other books.

  Rich's student-teacher deftly combines compassionate ignorance and the perspicacity of genius. His performance at the end of the show, in which he crams through one-line summaries of a series of books, is relentlessly funny. Reeder's drama professor excels at comic delivery, particularly when he performs excerpts from a series of classic poems blearily pasted together with lyrics to pop tunes and a grocery list.

  In Tandem's production of All the Great Books (abridged) runs through Oct. 26 at the Tenth Street Theatre.