It’s Christmas time in the ’80s in Syracuse, New York, and not everything is bright and jolly.

Ten-year-old Meek (Lucia Aremu) is building a bomb shelter in her basement and obsessing with her Speak & Spell.

Meek is the only black member of the Cold War Choir, a group that provides background for the historical tense times of the eighties, with nuclear threats hanging over the jittery world.

Her activist father runs a roller rink, where all the action of the play takes place. They are visited by his brother who is a security advisor for the Reagan administration.

What is in that black suitcase that is always with him. And what’s with his catatonic, spastic wife (Rebecca Gible)? And who is the mysterious woman in black?

There are more questions than answers in this long one-act play that relies heavily on shadow puppetry, back-lighting, music, imagery and gimmickry to tell its story and make its points.

The world is on the brink of destruction, with the brothers squaring off against each other while dealing with political and racial issues, not so unlike what is happening in the world today.

There’s lots of talk in Ro Reddick’s “Cold War Choir Practice,” but there’s also lots of action, especially as the play reaches a slam-bang conclusion.

The ensemble cast has perfected the comic timing. At one malfunction on opening night, they covered for it beautifully.

“Cold War…” is a busy play with lots going on at once, requiring your careful attention to background and song lyrics. It takes careful concentration to catch and make sense out of it all.

At Trinity’s Dowling Theatre through October 5.  For tickets, visit trinityrep.com or call 351-4242.