Particularly in the Heartland

Part of the Walker’s Out There festival of experimental theater, this show, by a youthful New York City ensemble called the TEAM (Theater of the Emerging American Moment) defies rampant cynicism by presenting a work of resounding optimism. Set in Kansas, the action unfolds within an evangelical household. The parents have just been killed by an awful Kansan storm, but the children believe the rapture has taken them. What’s surprising about this work, especially in this age marked by Colbert Report satire, is how the TEAM avoids irony in painting its portrait of the earnest, often anti-intellectual culture of Evangelicalism. Instead, their feel-good show teems with rigorous dance and movement, sincere character study, and even wholesome Stephen Foster songs.

Walker Art Center, 612-375-7600.