(Enlarge) Jeff Baker as Sigmund Freud, left, finds himself deeply puzzled by Bruce Nelson as surrealist painter Salvador Dali in “Hysteria,” continuing at Rep Stage through Nov. 1. Photo by Stan Barouh.

Based on an actual meeting between Sigmund Freud and Salvador Dali, Terry Johnson's "Hysteria" plunges hysterically into the comic possibilities of having the father of psychoanalysis meet the pioneering surrealist artist. The Rep Stage production is just as irreverent when it comes to depicting these iconic cultural figures.

Although this English playwright's 1994 play doesn't always hold up to close analysis and belabors its points in an overlong first act, it's well-researched and makes some hilarious jokes at the expense of Freud, Dali, logic and good manners.

What's ultimately winning about the play is how its satire is tempered by more serious concerns about mental and physical illness.

The play is set in 1938 in the comfortable sitting room of a London home that Freud occupied when he fled Vienna prior to the German annexation of Austria. Totemic objects and other ethnographic curiosities fill the shelves of Freud's new home, and it's symbolically apt that designer Klyph Stanford's handsome set is anchored by the sort of sofa that Dr. Freud would have invited his patients to park themselves on.

Already suffering from the cancer that would kill him just a year later, Freud (Jeff Baker) is cranky and tired. His doctor friend, Abraham Yahuda (Conrad Feininger), tends to him and also trades banter that reflects the venerable European culture now threatened by war.

Freud and Yahuda have their differences, but the play's focus is on the spirited encounter between Freud and a mysterious young woman, Jessica (Marni Penning), who shows up uninvited at the house and insists upon talking to him. She knows a lot about Freud's theories and, one suspects, she has a personal connection to his career.

It takes more than one session to reveal her true identity, which seems like an appropriate authorial strategy for a play that both uses Freud's investigative methods and challenges them.

Making for an even busier sitting room is the expected appearance of Freud's guest, Salvador Dali (Bruce R. Nelson), whose shared interest in the subconscious makes him a suitable visitor. Because of Dali's surrealist silliness, you know you're in for some wacky conversations.

Without giving away any of the ludicrous complications, suffice it to say that "Hysteria" has enough slamming doors, disguised characters and masked intentions to make it a sitting-room farce. That prolonged first act sometimes threatens to wear out its welcome, but the swifter second act neatly balances its serious and silly material.

Helping the uneven play cohere on stage is the Rep Stage cast, which really inhabits its roles. Jeff Baker has the bearded, gruff authority you expect from the egotistical Freud; Bruce Nelson brings his trademark clowning to the limber Dali's lunatic behavior; and Marni Penning does an admirable bit of hyperactive emoting as a woman on the verge of either a nervous breakdown or a nervous breakthrough.

Although director Steven Carpenter could tighten the timing in places, he generally keeps things moving along at a brisk pace. After all, you don't want this improbable story to pause for long as it charges ahead to earn your applause at the end of what amounts to a wild therapeutic session.

Rep Stage's "Hysteria" runs through Nov. 1 at Howard Community College, at 10901 Little Patuxent Pkwy., in Columbia. Tickets are $18 to $30, with pay-what-you-can performances Oct. 21 and 28. Seniors, HCC staff and faculty are $2 off; students with ID are $12 all shows. Call 410-772-4900 or go to www.repstage.org.

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