DETROIT, Mich. — The Complete History of America (Abridged) promises to hit the highlights of significant U.S. events in two acts totaling 90 minutes.

Actual history get mixed up a bit, but the audience is too busy laughing at the Detroit Mercy Theatre Company production to get too caught up with fact checking.

All three cast members do an outstanding job in their fast-paced, heavy dialogue roles. It’s remarkable that Preston Cornelius and T’elay Forbes are only first-year theatre majors, as they could easily be seasoned actors based on the caliber of their work here, especially their comedic timing. Cornelius is a master of physical humor, accentuated by his ample physique.

Andrew Papa, the pro in the cast, is an assistant professor at Detroit Mercy with a long list of credits. His professional experience is evident in that of the three actors, he enunciates and projects his voice with the most skill.

The production is directed by Dave Davies, who has much experience in local comedic theatre. He has been an improviser/actor for over two decades and has taught improv at Planet Ant, Tipping Point Theatre, Second City Detroit and other venues. It might be Davies’ prowess at improv that inspired one portion in the second act where the actors invite questions from the audience from Presidents Trump and Obama, the two characters on the stage. The young actors roll with it gracefully. Cornelius plays a disturbingly accurate Trump and Forbes does a good job capturing Obama’s speech affects.

The set, which is simply the facade of a building, gets the job done. An artistic floor painting of the country including highlights of various historical moments, adds a nice touch.

The play is a series of skits strung together in chronological order starting with the country’s founding and ending with the current Trump presidency. It takes shots at both sides of the political divide, so there are laughs for everyone.

There are many bawdy jokes and this is definitely an R-rated production (leave the kids at home.) It has the feel of Saturday Night Live meets Monty Python with some “Drunk History” thrown in.

If you are easily offended and don’t appreciate sophomoric penis jokes, you probably won’t enjoy the production. But judging by the laughter in the audience Saturday night, most people appreciated the opportunity to laugh at our sometimes overinflated collective American ego. Our country is still a youngster compared to the rest of the world, let’s not forget. And laughter is always the best medicine.

Click here for show days, times and ticket details.