In no way do I mean this as a slight, but it doesn't take long before Everyman starts to feel just a bit silly. That's a good thing. I find silliness extremely underrated in modern art critique.

Indisputably the most famous English morality play of the late 15th century, Everyman relates the allegorical quest of its title character for salvation. Death has come for Everyman, and now, at the last minute - arguably, past it - Everyman is desperate for a path into Yahweh's good graces. One by one, Everyman's most cherished companions and idols desert him on the Road to Perdition. (Imagine a version of The Wizard of Oz in which the Scarecrow, Tin Woodsman and Cowardly Lion abandon Dorothy to the Witch.) Forsaken by friends, family, filthy lucre and even his own faculties, Everyman finally falls back on confession and faith in his First Father. And if you thought that alliteration was thudding, friend, just wait till you hear some of the rhymes in this show. We have no idea who wrote it; the verse is as sophisticated as the meter-free doggerel in a junior high school girl's diary, though, so perhaps that's due to shame.

Saint Martin's University presents the play every five years, and this time Judy Turner takes the directorial reins. She leads us on a trek through the woods, a presentational idea reminiscent of medieval pageants. The pilgrimage is orchestrated cleverly and invisibly, as Death and "the High Judge Adonai" peek around corners to monitor our progress. It's a bit like being stalked.

To modern sensibilities, the parable seems awfully simplistic, but Turner enlivens it with amusing nuance. I appreciated the marching band under the direction of Joe Mailhot - at least until that drummer started slamming staccato snare taps. I'm from LA, kid. You can't make sudden banging noises directly behind me. I'll leap into the bushes.

The cast is, as is typical of college productions, a mixed bag of skill levels. I gather there's a tradition of casting a local bigwig as The Man Upstairs, so Josh Anderson (he of the Weekly Volcano's Best of Olympia 2011 Arts MVP title) gets to loom smugly over the scenes. He makes a charming Deity. But the bulk of the play rests squarely on the shoulders of sophomore Olivia Baumgartner, whose Everyperson tears through enough lines to keep Hamlet busy for three acts. It's an earnest, multifaceted performance. A few of her fellows were less successful at legitimizing the kludgiest verses.

Plan for inclement weather, and wear comfy shoes. You'll be on your feet for most of the play's roughly 70-minute duration. But regardless of your spiritual beliefs, Saint Martin's Everyman is charming and whimsical and a lesson in theater history. For all its fatal portent, it's impossible to take seriously, which makes it more fun than church. It's like golfing with the family from Davey and Goliath.

Everyman

Through April 30, 6:45 p.m. Wednesday to Saturday, $5,
beginning outside O’Grady Library on the SMU campus
Saint Martin’s University, 5300 Pacific Ave. SE, Lacey
360.790.8308