Entertainment

Gives new meaning to ‘Roll’ play

So many plays seem arbitrary, as if the writer were rolling dice to decide what happens next. But “Die: Roll To Proceed” cuts out the middle-man. In Joe Kurtz’s endlessly variable, interactive comedy, the next move is up to theatergoers.

Playing at 10:30 Fridays at the East Village’s funky Red Room, “Die” revolves around roommates George and the gastrically challenged Rob, who spend most of their time playing Risk. One particularly stressful day, George, declaring that “I want God to decide everything for me,” decides to avoid all responsibility by rolling dice to determine his life choices, beginning with whether or not he should stay with his girlfriend, Kate.

And that’s where you come in. At every pivotal plot point, volunteers are enlisted to roll a large foam, six-sided die to dictate what direction the show takes next, including whether George and Rob will kiss.

It’s not a power to be taken lightly, since there are 72 different scripted versions of the play. But you don’t have to take the producers’ word for it: A paperback novelization ($12 at the theater, $15 elsewhere) details each and every one of them.

The silly plot is negligible — at the show I saw, George (Kurtz, the playwright) becomes a male prostitute, with his grotesque landlady as one of his clients. Adding to the low-rent vibe is a ramshackle set featuring a large air mattress, its inflation and deflation bookending the proceedings, with cardboard cutouts (“Laptop,” “Noose,” “Crack Pipe”) functioning as props.

Keeping things loose are emcee David Williams, with his deadpan asides — and the free preshow beers. Bring your ID and leave your inhibitions at home.