World history.

These two words are enough to bring back memories of tediously boring high school global studies classes. But this weekend, local comedy troupe Broadminded re-introduces history to the delightfully outlandish world of sketch comedy, over at the Alchemist Theatre.

Broadminded is a Milwaukee-based group consisting of four “broads” – Anne Graff LaDisa, Stacy Babl, Melissa Kingston and Megan McGee.

The group took off after the women met through ComedySportz, a semi-professional competitive team improv organization. The group felt that Milwaukee needed a women’s comedic group, as sketch comedy is particularly male-dominated.

While it’s entirely comprised of women, Broadminded is not comedy just for the female populace. Their motto is “Sketch comedy. By Women. For everyone.”

The troupe’s name says a lot about their character and their comedic stylings.

“It’s funny to take a term and own it. It’s not how people expect a term to be used. We’re just a bunch of smartass broads,” McGee said.

Broadminded’s current show, “Encyclopedia Broadtannica,” runs through Nov. 20 at the Alchemist Theatre. The show revisits memorable periods in human civilization but spins and retells the stories in a more playful perspective. Accuracy is not guaranteed.

And don’t worry if it has been a while since you took your required history gen-eds: No history major is needed to understand the jokes.

“The show is for people who love history and for people who know nothing about history,” McGee said.

The sketches take everyday moments in today’s world and tease these scenarios to fit into a historical context and answer big questions.

For instance, the question, “Where do babies come from?” is addressed in conversation around the Greek gods’ dinner table with tales of how the Greek gods have given birth and where mortals fit into their plans.

While the language and plot can be complex, the costuming in sketch comedy is simple but effective. Because costuming and sets must remain minimalist by necessity, the actors are forced to engage the audience in a more creative way, which can add dimension to the show.

Having an all-female group added to the performance’s hilarity, especially when the women acted out the male parts. In comedic roles, it is common to see men dressed as women, but women rarely dress as men.

The show also includes multimedia elements. A large screen depicts old pictures of historical figures as well as videos, including one in which the comedians dramatically read real reviews of a butter dish from Amazon.com out loud.

That sketch in particular is an especially fun part of the show because it takes an average, everyday thing and overdramatizes it to point out its hilarity.

Even though the performance’s overarching theme was history, relevant and pertinent topics from the current day made the cut. The show poked fun at concepts including Occupy Wall Street, concealed carry and perceptions about homosexuality.

In a few of the skits, the present and the past coexist simultaneously. Some sketches even have an element of time travel, comparing the lifestyle of people from different generations to our era’s for the sake of social commentary.

The troupe achieves hilarity with a show that features layered and intellectual content. McGee said that while a lot of the humor is flexible, many of the best moments are based on complicated language.

“We try to challenge ourselves and write towards it,” Babl said.

“Encyclopedia Broadtannica” is showing at the Alchemist Theatre Nov. 18 and 19 at 8 p.m. and Nov. 20 at 4 p.m. Tickets are $10 and are available at alchemisttheatre.com.