Director Joel Sass did part of my job at Open Eye Theatre's "Hair Ball! A Bigfoot Musical Adventure" when he called the show "a live-action comic book musical."

That's an apt description of the world premiere, which Open Eye is staging on the green roof of Minneapolis' Bakken Museum. Here are a few more observations on what to expect:

  1. Much like Open Eye's "Log Jam!" last summer, "Hair Ball" is an exclamation-pointed, folk tale-inspired, very broad show with Maren Ward playing a dude. This time, she's a nut who claims a Bigfoot-like creature called "Megapaw" is taking over the world, "working for Commie revolutionaries from Transylvania."
  2. You may think you're on a roof in Minneapolis but you're in Canada, where "Hair Ball!" takes place at a resort whose owners plan to replace the surrounding forest with "golf courses as far as the eye can see."
  3. It's a screwball show and, although Josef Evans' droll songs are interludes rather than plot-movers, it's swiftly paced. It's recommended for ages 10 and up but I suspect a few bawdy jokes will go over the heads of youngsters.
  4. Going over the heads of everyone are playful birds. Part of the fun of "Hair Ball!" is the setting, which included many avian friends on opening night Thursday, including a daredevil duck that buzzed so low that one cast member might have been able to touch it if he'd reached up.
  5. It's a multisensory performance, with the audience on three sides of a grassy playing space and a three-piece band on the fourth. On opening night, I occasionally heard volleyball players from the nearby sand courts. I smelled mowed grass, dirt and the perfume of the woman next to me.
  6. Be prepared to be a special effect. On the way in, you're handed an orange/yellow/red pom-pom to be deployed in the search for Megapaw, which also involves a delightful teen detective (Abilene Olson) and her snooty mother (Georgia Doolittle).
  7. You may be surprised by the singing. Yes, it's a silly show and, other than a nod to the reason we need stories, it's a lark. But there are some seriously good voices in the cast of eight.
  8. You can't see Bde Maka Ska — the trees have leafed in too much — but as you await the show, you'll spot neighboring ponds and a field of native plants.
  9. Bring a chair. Or not. Some are available on a first-come, first-served basis. (I was about 10 minutes early and snagged one.)
  10. The weather was perfect the day I went but the show goes on through light rain. Might want to bring a raincoat (and don't fret about Tamir Nolley's beautiful bass. The band has a canopy.)
  11. Sass and company have a great eye for detail, which pays off in clever bits such as a forest ranger (Luke Aaron Davidson) who has a canoe strapped over his shoulders and who shimmies out of it like it's a peignoir, or a horny townsperson (Lux Mortenson) who needs a cigarette and pauses to give a marmot puppet a puff, too.
  12. Aside from being beautiful, the rooftop setting also pays off when, for instance, Olson sings, "When I look at the trees/When I look at this forest," and we are, in fact, surrounded by trees.
  13. Unexpectedly, "Hair Ball!" is a romance, with a whiff of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and a lovely ballad by Evans, possibly called "Love Is Love Is Love."
  14. If you arrive early, your ticket gets you a free hour in the museum.
  15. A behind-the-scenes factoid: This is the 31st collaboration for Ward and Evans. Their first was back in 2004, for the now-defunct Bedlam Theater.
  16. Since the 80-minute show starts at 7 p.m., it'll probably be light outside when you get home, depending on where in the metro you live.

'Hair Ball! A Bigfoot Musical Adventure'

Who: By Josef Evans. Directed by Joel Sass.

When: 7 p.m. Wed., Fri., Sun. Ends June 19.

Where: Bakken Museum rooftop, 3537 Zenith Av. S., Mpls.

Protocol: Masks are optional.

Tickets: $30, 612-874-6338 or openeyetheatre.org.