![]() ![]() ![]() Part of the play takes place in Egypt, and Landhuis has done a good job placing us in that country with, for instance, a tapestry of Egyptian iconography. Also, some of the furniture conceals jail-like bars, behind which someone is kept prisoner. There are candles, reddish drapes and wallpaper designed with patterns, a liquor bar, and fireplace. A Victorian England escape room might come to mind. Scenic and lighting designer Ardean Landhuis has designed the compact-looking room with details such as wall-mounted pistols, a mounted deer’s head, a knight’s coat of armor positioned like a mannequin (resembling the Tinman from The Wizard of Oz) and a volume of books on Egyptian mythology. The framed portrait hangs on the wall in the library drawing room of Mandacrest, the Hillcrest estate near Hampstead Heath. And where is the blood dripping down a portrait coming from? Indeed, it is a magical mystery, as mysterious as the titular character. For example, a fire suddenly appears out of nowhere. Fortunately, the pace is not so fast that audiences cannot keep up. And the production’s resultant fast pace enhances the energy and comedy. Rogow directs with over-the-top comic energy, which is appropriate for a campy show such as The Mystery of Irma Vep. Characters such as vampires, wolves, werewolves, ghosts, and mummies either populate the play or Ludlam references them. Apparently, their job is to help the performers change quickly.Īs far as plot is concerned, the former mistress of an English estate (who may or may not be dead) haunts the place. Appropriately, after the two performers took their bows following the reviewed performance, a few other individuals also took bows. You can’t help but wonder how the performers are able to change costumes so quickly, in a matter of seconds. Two performers take on several roles in a show that requires dozens of wigs and some 35 costume quick-changes over the course of roughly two hours. For instance, more than once, one of the actors advises audience members to “Google it” after mentioning something obscure from the distant past. However, Ardean Landhuis’s scenic design suggests that the play takes place well before the time “between the wars.” Therefore, the many anachronistic references to modern times make us laugh. The program notes that the setting is “between the wars” in England, near Hampstead Heath (although it does not mention which wars). Rather, they let the comedy spring organically from the characters and situations. ![]() Surely it helps that the performers never appear to “show off” or beg for laughs. In fact, you barely recover from one hearty laugh when something else moves you again to uncontrollable laughter. If ICS’s cast and crew were aiming for belly laughs, they have scored multiple bull’s eyes judging from the reviewed performance. ![]() Indeed, each madcap blunder, gasp, glance, and exaggerated gesture seems spontaneous and occurs at just the right moment to achieve the desired effect. Specifically, under ICS Artistic Director Andy Rogow’s deft direction, the comic timing is near perfect. But there is no questioning the timing in the show. Of course, a curmudgeon who delights in annoying others might wonder why ICS is mounting this show four months before Halloween. So, sit back, relax, laugh heartily and often (I guarantee you will), and enjoy. Indeed, Charles Ludlam’s camp comedy spoof of horror, farce, the penny dreadful, Gothic melodrama, and more is pure escapist entertainment. The production runs through July 10 in the professional, nonprofit company’s intimate theater in Wilton Manors.įolks, feel free to put away your thinking caps you will not need them while watching the zaniness play out onstage. There, a side-splitting production of the hilarious 1984 spoof, The Mystery of Irma Vep, is offering a much-needed respite from the world. Nicodemus Underwood (Larry Buzzeo, back) startles Jane Twisden (Bruce Linser) in Island City Stage’s production of The Mystery of Irma Vep.Ĭomic brilliance is on display at Island City Stage (ICS). ![]()
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