The Mystery of Irma Vep: A Penny Dreadful
By Joel Benjamin
Charles Ludlam was a leading light of the campy, avant-garde,
gay-centric theater scene during the heady days of the 1960s and 1970s when
off-off-Broadway was leading the way with its dime-store, let’s-put-on-a-show
production values that cannibalized everything from pop culture to Shakespeare
and the ancient Greek classics. As director of the Ridiculous Theatrical
Company, headquartered in the heart of Greenwich Village, he wrote, acted in
and directed many plays that pilloried middleclass entertainments. The
Mystery of Irma Vep: A Penny Dreadful from 1984 is classic Ludlam, a
mishmash of Hollywood films (notably “Rebecca,” vampire, mummy and werewolf
monster movies and the Sherlock Holmes canon) and the popular Victorian
literary form called “penny dreadfuls” which were cheap and featured improbably
sensational plots.
A production of the estimable Red Bull Theater, The Mystery of Irma
Vep at the Lucille Lortel Theater—appropriately in the Village—is a first
rate revival of a first rate farce, one of Ludlam’s best, made even more
authentic by being directed by one of the original actors, Everett Quinton
(Ludlam’s professional and personal partner).
What elevates Irma Vep is the inspired gimmick of having all the
characters played by just two actors—originally Ludlam and Quinton—whose
split-second costume changes are part of the fun. Arnie Burton (39 Steps,
which also featured multiple costume changes) and Robert Sella (My Fair Lady
& Cabaret) are brilliant. They play the housekeeper, Jane Twisden
(Sella), the groundsman Nicodemus Underwood (Burton) as well as the new
mistress of Mandacrest, Lady Enid (Burton), her husband Lord Edgar Hillcrest
(Sella). Also on the cast list are the exotic Egyptian tomb guide Alcazar and
Pev Amri (an anagram of Irma Vep which is an anagram of “vampire”). Does Irma
Vep appear? You’d have to be there to find out.
The play takes place “between the wars” in “Mandacrest, the Hillcrest
Estate near Hampstead Heath, and Egypt”! Mandacrest is clearly a fill-in for
Manderley of Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca, but mostly the Manderley of
Hitchcock’s 1940 film. Irma, seen in an ominous portrait which sometimes
bleeds, still holds sway at Mandacrest, helped by the machinations of Jane.
There are bizarre intimations of werewolves, vampires. In a trip to Egypt
Lord Edgar encounters Alcazar, he of indeterminate accent (Burton) who helps
Lord Edgar find the ancient mummy, Pev Amri (Burton) whose “Egyptian” dance
alone is worth the price of admission.
Every shtick is milked endlessly and hilariously. The witty references
to films and Shakespeare come fast a furiously, with astounding costume changes
happening in what seems to be mid-sentence. At one point, one of the actors
actually does battle with himself…as two different people! Certainly Everett
Quinton’s inside knowledge of the logistics of playing these roles must have
come in handy. Arnie Burton and Robert Sella were delightfully hammy.
The show is simply a fun evening that can be taken in many ways: as a
clever cultural commentary; a sophisticated, tongue-in-cheek parody; or a
display of the talents of two wonderful actors who turn themselves inside out
to please.
The scenic designs by John Arnone are part of the fun. Ramona Ponce,
the costume designer, must have stockpiled ninety-percent of the Velcro in the New
York area. These outfits, plus Aaron Kinchen’s wigs make the actors’ efforts
pay off. Peter West’s lighting design is a work of art, providing dramatic
shadows, lightening effects and a great ambience.
The Mystery of Irma Vep: A Penny Dreadful (through May 11,
2014)
Red Bull Theater
Lucille Lortel Theater
121 Christopher St. (between Bleecker St. & Hudson St.)
New York, NY
Tickets and Information: 212-352-3101 or www.redbulltheater.com
Running Time: Two hours with one intermission