The changes in culture and language that have occurred over the past 120 years sounds like something you’d learn in a history class, not the theater. But the latest play being put on by the UW-Eau Claire theater department will be proving that this is not just the stuff of history class.

“On the Verge, or The Geography of Yearning” was written by Eric Overmyer in 1986.

The play opens in 1888 and follows three female explorers as they travel through time and to many different places, including the mysterious jungle of Terra Incognita. By the end of their journey, the women have made it as far as 1955.

A common theme of the play is the culture shock that the women experience as they see how things have changed as they move through the future, including inventions that seem simple to us (like Cool Whip), but to the three women, seem complicated.

Eau Claire’s first performance of “On the Verge” is tonight at 7:30 p.m. in the Riverside Theater in Haas Fine Arts Center.

Sami Johnson, a junior theater arts and Spanish double major, plays one of the three leading ladies. Her character is Fanny, the youngest and most naïve of the three, according to Johnson.

The three leading ladies, Johnson, senior Cassia Harder and junior Siri Brobst, all mirror their characters, at least to some extent, Johnson said.

“Fanny is more conservative and romantic,” Johnson explained. “Siri (Brobst) is like Alexandra: outgoing and more obnoxious — in the best way. … Cassia (Harder) is really philosophical, just like Mary.”

Dick Nimke is directing the play, and the cast couldn’t be happier.

“He makes sure we know where we’re going,” senior theater arts major Cameron Cylkowski said. “He makes things easy and fantastic.”

There are a total of eight male characters, all of whom are played by three different actors.

Cylkowski plays three very different parts in the play: the Yeti, the Gorge Troll and Nicky Paradise. The first is self-explanatory (much growling), and the other two are Fonzie/John Travolta-esque charmers.

The department is also bound to prove that language and culture can be fun, too.

Harder, a senior theater arts major, said the show has something for everyone,

“There’s plenty of situational comedy, which everyone will like,” Harder said, “and it’s a very musical sort of play, too, making it more cinematic.”

Harder added that the show has something for everyone, from cinematic music, to situational comedy, which made working on the production a lot of fun.

Cylkowski agreed.

“I haven’t had so much fun working on a production,” Cylkowski said. “We’re having fun, and it’s a really solid show, which is going to be clear to the audience.”

“It’s been so stress-free,” Johnson said. “This is the least stressed I’ve been in a theater production, and I have over 300 lines.”

And not simple lines either, according to Harder, who plays Mary Baltimore, the eldest and strongest of the three explorers.

One of the major themes throughout the play is language.

“It feels like the entire play is one giant tongue twister,” Harder said. “It’s almost like climbing the Mount Everest of language.”

Harder said she was curious to see how the audience responds to the puns throughout the play, as she’s not sure they’ll be able to catch all of the word puns as they occur at such a fast pace.

“All English majors should be required to see this play,” Johnson said.

Cylkowski added that he thought everyone in the audience should bring a dictionary and thesaurus with them, so they can fully enjoy the wordplay.

“Working on this production has made me think of the modern world in a different way,” Harder said. “I’ve been able to see how the ease of our convenient way of living looks to outsiders and can see how complex they really are. It’s taken me by surprise.”