After watching the University of Michigan’s production of Claire Luckham’s “Trafford Tanzi,” I’ve become convinced that a substantial part of professional wrestling’s appeal is that it provides fans with a chance to passionately boo and hiss at villains.

Seriously. We get all kinds of opportunities to cheer and applaud others, but booing is generally viewed as juvenile, unsportsmanlike, and mean. So when we’re not only allowed but encouraged to boo, and clear, easy lines are drawn between villains and heroes who engage in fully-realized smackdowns — well, that just makes for a enjoyable night of hypnotically bizarre and visceral theater.

Set entirely in a professional wrestling ring, “Tanzi” tells the story, in 10 rounds, of the play’s title character (Trafford is a working-class district of Manchester, England), from toddlerhood to adulthood.

As a young girl, Tanzi (Arielle Goldman) is chided by her Mum (Kelsey Lappa), who wanted a son, and forces Tanzi into a frilly pink dress. At age 6, Tanzi is rejected by schoolmate Platinum Sue (Erin Cousins); and later, Tanzi faces off against her father (Nicholas Strauss-Matathia) and a school psychiatrist (Torrey Wigfield) before finally, at age 18, meeting someone who promises to love her: professional-wrestler-in-training Dean Rebel (Louis Marino). But when he cheats on Tanzi and demands that she be a subservient housewife to him instead of pursuing her own professional wrestling dreams, the 2 agree to resolve the matter in the ring.

Things are black and white, with no shades of gray, in the world of “Tanzi,” but that’s part of its charm. Plus, athletic competition always has an inherently theatrical element to it, but never before have I seen that translated so completely on a theater stage. Unlike other “sports” plays, “Tanzi” isn’t about what happens on the sidelines or behind-the-scenes; it’s about characters physically battling out their differences by way of flips, flying leaps, 2-footed stomach kicks, and body slams.

So it’s a physically grueling show for the performers, but the opening-night crowd ate it up, having a great time while cheering and booing and ad-libbing (when Dean took a handkerchief from his Speedo-like wrestling shorts to dry Tanzi’s tears, someone said, “Eww”). And the ensemble does terrific work with the physical demands of the piece, which are ultimately the heart and soul of “Tanzi.”

The fights are convincingly choreographed by a graduate filmmaker in U-M’s school of art and design, Charles Fairbanks (who also wrestled at Stanford and competes as El Gato Tuerto in the rings of Mexico); and director Malcolm Tulip manages to make the whimsical production feel both loose and disciplined — which is, perhaps not coincidentally, what athletes must aspire to while training and competing.

Carlos Valdes — who appears in ‘70s formal attire while playing the keyboard ringside — composed and arranged most of the show’s tongue-in-cheek, era-skewering music; and Elizabeth Lynch’s set design, paired with Henry Reynolds' sound design and Craig Kidwell’s lighting, sets the scene from the get-go. With vintage ads for cigarettes, beers, and wrestling matches circling the stage; the low hum of a wrestling crowd as aural backdrop; and scenes performed in-the-round from a central wrestling ring, you immediately feel you’re in a run-down coliseum instead of a theater.

Andrew Hill’s costume design, meanwhile — wherein Mum sports pearls and a short apron with her wrestling unitard, and Dad wears a tie and collar with his — cracked me up more than once.

The whole cast admirably commits to this slightly daffy show, but special mention must be made of Goldman, who is, of course, involved in every single on-stage fight; that she does so with skill and mostly unflagging energy is astounding. And, in a featured role as referee, Wigfield has some fine moments, whether it’s bantering with the crowd or diving, quite literally, into the ring.

Sadly, on opening night, a lot of the seats in the Arthur Miller Theatre were empty, but my hope is that more people will give this highly unconventional show a chance. As someone who’s watched hundreds of shows, I’ve never seen anything remotely like “Tanzi” on stage before; and although I don’t count myself as a fan of professional wrestling at all, this feminist musical wrestling comedy (words you don't hear together often) ultimately sold me by way of its goofy sense of interactive fun.

Jenn McKee is the entertainment digital journalist for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at jennmckee@annarbor.com or 734-623-2546, and follow her on Twitter @jennmckee.