uses the animal kingdom device cleverly to address issues of family and sexual orientation, along with the environment and scientific engineering. And she wraps all of it around a simmering fear of the unknown, the untried, the unspoken.

If there aren't quite enough surprises along the way, moments that push through the sitcom outer layer to reach some deeper place, there are some nicely poetic moments.

Here's Gwo Gwo, the male panda, telling Chester the crocodile about the day everything went bad for pandas: "The sky turned peculiar. And there was wind. Like the whole sky wanted to be someplace else."

Mostly, though, there's a droll touch, which keeps things spinning in entertaining fashion (Chester: You pandas. You don’t kid around. Gwo Gwo: We’re endangered. We don’t have time).

The work, developed over the past few years by the now Baltimore-based Generous Company's WordBRIDGE Playwrights Laboratory, is well served by the Iron Crow staging and makes a good fit at Theatre Project. Director/designer Joseph Ritsch has created an effective space for the action and has it moving fleetly. The cast, wryly costumed by Rebecca Eastman, does a persuasive job.

David Brasington gives a delectable performance as Gwo Gwo, who just can't work up much enthusiasm for all that mating stuff -- the ritual, yes, just not the ultimate act. The actor easily brings out Gwo Gwo's sweetly naive nature, and also reveals a flair for deadpan, which helps generate some of the best laughs in the show.

Adam Cooley's Chester, the "apex predator," is a fun fellow, especially when slipping into full hey-girlfriend-snap-snap mode. Katie O. Solomon brings an effective spark to the role of Marion, the would-be mama, and she makes imitation panda moves with aplomb.

In the end, the play feels rather slight, but it certainly sheds an intriguing new light on the concept of "unnatural acts."