Claptrap, Clinton Area Showboat Theatre Ruby Nancy Exhaustion is not usually how I feel when I leave a theater, and on the rare occasion I am worn out when I start home or head for the next stop, it's usually because the play I saw wasn't that great. In the case of "Claptrap," the latest summer stock offering aboard the Clinton Showboat, though, I laughed so hard throughout it that I was literally exhausted. This outrageous farce is fabulously, almost unbelievably funny, and you aren't likely to have a chance to laugh that hard again for quite some time. Focusing on a writer who can't seem to get past the first page of his great American novel and an out-of-work actor who just wants a chance to star in "Deathtrap," "Claptrap" is a buddy comedy and a sex farce rolled into one. Sam, the writer (played by Joshua Culpepper), and Harvey (Craig Merriman), the actor, meet under less than ideal circumstances, to say the least.  Sam's girlfriend's stepfather recently passed on, and Sam talks her into letting him handle the funeral services so he can make some quick cash, and during the clergy-less memorial service — held in a former chicken joint — Harvey shows up for what he thinks is an audition. And while some may say things are all down hill from that point on, the comic truth is that the fun has just begun. Too many plot points would spoil your enjoyment of this wildly hilarious show, so I'll let you learn the details on your own. Suffice it to say that by the time you see a stuffed animal and a sleeping bag appear in the same scene, you'll know the true definition of sidesplitting comedy. "Claptrap" is some of the best material to make its regional premiere this year, and the writing is sheer genius, but this production of the show also has performers worthy of its excellence. Culpepper's Sam is a wonderful mass of angst and no-talent narcissism, and Merriman's over-the-top Harvey is a laugh-a-minute loudmouth with an equally promising career trajectory. These two play off each other at every possible opportunity — and to great success — but Merriman has the more showy role, and he makes the absolute most of every single delicious line. Megan Kramer's saucy, dimwitted turn as Sara, Sam's girlfriend, is also great fun, as is Susan Cramm's Sybil, a put-upon publisher who has the bad luck of landing in Harvey's sights, and Sandee Cunningham's recalcitrant widow, Cynthia, is also a wonderful depiction of a fun role. A woman dancing around in her underwear, a guy on roller blades pretending to be dead, an "Art Deco memorial urn" and a very talented pillow are just a few of the other incredibly funny things you can see in "Claptrap," and you'll regret not making time to see it all. Not for the easily outraged or the faint at heart — and probably not something many folks would take their kids to see — "Claptrap" is an absolutely perfect comedy that will make you laugh until you can't laugh any more. And when you recover, I guarantee you'll start laughing all over again.