You might expect that everything out of the imaginings of a four-year-old girl would be sweetness, light, playful princesses and unicorns. If those are your expectations, prepare to have them all turned upside down by Noah Haidle’s Mr. Marmalade.

It’s a show that Summer Circle warns is “for adults only” and that isn’t a casual warning. This 70-minute show is a bizarre dark comedy. But for the adults attending this late-night free show, it’s a fun ride that is well-performed and highly entertaining.

Rosie Sullivan plays Lucy, a four-year-old girl who spends a lot of time by herself. She has an imaginary friend, Mr. Marmalade, played by Curran Jacobs (who also plays the role of the babysitter’s boyfriend George, the imaginary friend of another boy—Cactus, and a man). Mr. Marmalade is a busy man who rarely has time for Lucy, often sending his personal assistant Bradley, played by Derek Bry who also plays Larry, a suicidal preschooler. When he does show up, they play “house” or “doctor” in what seems like an innocent exchange in the beginning, but grows increasingly dark with each iteration.

Sullivan does a beautiful job of playing a four-year-old who has very little innocence. Her expressions and movement are that of a child, even while her words and actions are those of someone much older and mature. She moves quickly between moods, giving each one its full due. She is sprightly and bright, making the darker moments of the script even more powerful and giving them greater impact. And she manages to look innocent even while dealing with issues of drug addiction, domestic abuse and alcoholism.

Bry’s Bradley acts as narrator, letting us know before each scene what we could expect before he steps back into the scenes to play his roles as the battered assistant and the preschooler who would become Lucy’s first real-life friend. He brings a distinct physicality to each role, knowing just when to exaggerate and when to fall back on more realistic movements. Each of his characters has his own voice, with one being an adult and the other having the higher-pitched voice of a young child.

Like Sullivan, Bry’s Larry speaks adult truths with the vocal patter of a child. He and Sullivan had high-energy interactions alternating between the shyness of two children just meeting and the enthusiasm of the very young at play.

Jacobs is most memorable in the title role, a father-like figure who is also Lucy’s romantic interest. He starts out self-contained, a busy man who has limited time for Lucy. From there he grows into wild, exaggerated actions that he supports with both his movement and voice. He is both hero and villain, and he challenges the audience to wonder why a 4-year-old is able to imagine such a creature–one who rarely treats her well, yet still has her adoration.

Mykayla Smith inhabits three roles—the mother who is always on her way out, the teenaged babysitter Emily who has little interest in her charge, and Sunflower, one of Larry’s imaginary friends. Smith brings an edgy sarcasm to Emily, playing her disinterest well. She has wonderful non-verbals both while watching television and then interacting with her boyfriend George (Larry’s older step-brother). She also brings great glee to the Sunflower.

The show is jointly directed by Michigan State University students Matt Greenbaum and Karen Vance. The two are also in a cast with all of their actors in “The Groundling,” the show that just closed Saturday night. The ensemble is tight and the show’s vision is cohesive. Greenbaum and Vance make great use of the Summer Circle stage, directing their actors to alternately flee from and to each other. They choose the distance between characters well to underline the script and what is happening between characters at the time. And in a show that is high-energy, they make good use of silences—whether they are awkward or angry.

Scene Designer Mike Merluzzi gets credit for building a set that can be put up quickly in front of the main stage sets. He created a series of toy blocks (some of which spell out naughty words when stacked on top of each other) in bright yellows, greens and blues. They connect to provide a backdrop and doors which the characters can make their quick changes behind as well as occasionally pop out of to deliver lines behind.

Mr. Marmalade is a fun romp that travels through some dark and serious topics. The cast works together to make sure you are laughing all throughout it even while asking afterward the more pressing questions about the themes raised in this show.

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