[The Vietnamization of New Jersey] is a satire of such ferocity that it runs roughshod not only through the conventions of [David Rabe's] Sticks and Bones, but through some of our most cherished liberal illusions.

Durang is a lineal descendant of Lenny Bruce, which is to say he is always trespassing on forbidden ground, skirting perilously close to nihilism. Still, Durang's nihilism is earned; like Bruce, he obviously suffers for it. The satire in The Vietnamization of New Jersey has been called collegiate, but it is rarely facile, and it is never self-righteous. Durang's comedy, at its best, has deep roots in a controlled anger, which can only be expressed and purged through a comedy of the absurd.

The Vietnamization of New Jersey is set in a suburban American living room, piled high to the ceiling with the detritus of our consumer culture: two hair dryers, three TV...