Satirically exploring the painful emotions and unspoken truths of black society, George C. Wolfe's The Colored Museum taps into uncomfortable issues of black struggles and self-actualization with well written, clever humor that left the audience laughing in delight.

The play is performed by Penn State's School of Theatre's University Resident Theatre Company, and is directed by associate theatre arts professor Charles Dumas.

Each vignette of the play delves into serious issues, from self-hatred and discrimination to denial of gay and transgender instincts, and does this quite successfully because of its burlesque nature.

Wolfe wrote the play not as an attempt to bring down any audience members, but as a challenge for the audience members to recognize social problems and current identity struggles of predominantly black characters.

Under Dumas' direction, the 14-member cast delivers a solid performance that makes audience members roar with laughter at one scene and cry the next.

Each cast member tackles their complex characters and delivers their lines in such a way that audience members can see the wants of their inner psyche while bringing a lifetime of conviction to each scene that is unmistakably inspired.

The show begins with a slide show of projecting art images in a museum.

Each image is another piece of African art, however, the projecting equipment breaks down and the stage suddenly turns black.

Then, a low voice from the sound booth states, "Our equipment is not quite up to, um, standards. If we had funding, this is what you would have seen."

Audience members actually experience the show's first truth, feeling "let down" after the technical failure.

Under-funded art programs were the first things the show poked fun at, very fittingly indeed.

The audience then becomes "first-class" passengers on the "Middle Passage" in the first scene "Git on Board," which is notably well done by Roxanne Morris (junior-theatre arts).

Morris plays Miss Pat, the bubbly flight attendant who masterfully opens the play as the perfect guide -- witty, mechanical and charming.

In her opening monologue, Morris says things like, "You must wear shackles at all times," and, "You can buy headphones for the price of your first born," all of which spawned reserved laughter from audience members.

Morris was a dynamic character, very lively and original and one of the best performances of the show. Her Barbie-like gestures were very manufactured, as she said all too sweetly, "OK, so you're going to suffer a few hundred years!"

Ephraim Lopez, a 1998 Penn State alumna, gave a sprightly and undeniably sexy performance as Miss Roj, a transgendered "snap girl" clad in a bright turquoise sweater, cream go-go boots and a gorgeous platinum wig.

Lopez got many laughs as he made the character's fun, foxy and wild life story come alive while downing rum and cokes.

At the end of the monologue, the dancing and drinking stopped.

Lopez transformed the funny Miss. Roj into a complex and confused individual who can still hear her father calling her anti-gay names.

Other notable performances were by Wendell B. Franklin (graduate-theatre arts), an extraordinary actor who encompassed four different roles with such passion that he literally shook.

He first played a convincingly real Vietnam soldier who made a heartfelt tribute to the black soldiers who didn't make it back from the war-torn country before transforming into another character.

Crystal Leigh Endsley (graduate-theatre arts), gave a ravishing performance as Lala, an excessive "French" actress who refuses to acknowledge her black roots.

The audience sees an extreme character transformation from the lively, cocky and tres magnifique Lala, when Endsley becomes hysterical, and much like the other characters, breaks down.

The scene comes to a close when she meets her black daughter, whom she once denied.

Utter silence filled the theatre as she embraced her child, coming to terms with the past she once vehemently denied.

The Colored Museum is a must-see. This is one of the only plays that is both extremely funny, yet disturbing at the same time because of the message it conveys.

Its message is so vital and real to many people that audience members leave the theatre not laughing with Miss Roj, but feeling for her.

Dumas said in the director's notes that it was his responsibility to examine such issues through applying creativity and intelligence.

"Beneath the 'laugh-scaped' surface of these skits are deep caves and underground rivers of profound, disturbing and illuminating truth," the notes read.

Dumas and an all-star cast capture Wolfe's play in one of the School of Theatre's most charismatic and truthful plays yet.