Theater Reviews—

A Great Tribute To Every Bad Movie Ever Made

By Julie Stern

NEW HAVEN — Back in 1967, a unique creative genius named Charles Ludlam founded his own venue, The Ridiculous Theatrical Company, dedicated to flamboyant productions filled with literary references, send-ups of pop culture, off color jokes, and exaggerated renditions of classic theatrical pieces, performed mainly in drag.

Over the next 19 years, Ludlam wrote and acted in 29 plays and garnered numerous awards, but by far the most famous of his works was the The Mystery of Irma Vep, a “Penny Dreadful” which managed to combine elements of Ibsen, Poe, Bronte, du Maurier, Dracula, Agatha Christie and Hitchcock, among others. Long Wharf Theatre is currently offering its take on the hilarious Ludlam work.

What probably caused Irma Vep to win Obie and Drama Desk awards as well as be named the best play of the year by both Time Magazine and The New York Times, was the gimmick of it being performed by two men playing a total of eight roles.

This requires split-second timing and an offstage crew of technicians, frantically wielding props and costumes, false teeth, padding, wigs, makeup, werewolf paws and so forth, enabling the stiffly corseted housekeeper, Jane Twisden, to exit one door and re-enter moments later as her employer, Lord Edgar, while the leering, hunchback swineherd, Nicodemus Underwood, goes out the window and immediately descends the stairs as Lord Edgar’s ethereal new bride, Lady Enid.

When the action switches to an Egyptian tomb where Lord Edgar seeks clues to the werewolf issue, further incarnations include an Egyptian guide who doubles as a beautiful mummy (who comes back to life for a few moments).

Even the playbill notes are themselves a joke, with each performer listed under two different names – once for the roles played in drag and once for the male parts. In fact, I suspect there were more than a few people in the audience who still do not realize that “Jocelyn Burnet-Phipps” and “James Lecesne” are the same person, as are “Varla Jean Merman” and Jeffery T. Roberson.

 If you enjoy this sort of thing – and the house was packed recently with people who clearly did – then Long Wharf’s production (which is a repeat of last year’s Hartford Stage version; the two theaters are collaborating) does it really well.

Jeff Cowie’s set design, Alejo Vietti’s costumes, Rui Rita’s lighting, and Joe Pino’s sound all serve to make it a visual delight and a tribute to every bad movie ever made.

(Performances continue to December 12, with evening shows Tuesday through Saturday and matinees each Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday.

Tickets range from $40 to $60. Contact the theater at 203-782-8497 for details.)