Arizona Theatre Company's The Mystery of Irma Vep
(out of 
)Mark S.P. Turvin
(home office) (602) 912-0117
I can be reached for comment via e-mail at: mspt@goldfishpublishers.com
Reviewed 12/3/99
(out of )Playwright Charles Ludlam and his Ridiculous Theatre Company brought spoof and kitsch to new...uh, highs. His two person play, The Mystery of Irma Vep is a take off on the type of turn-of-the-century horror pennydreadfuls that make melodrama seem mellow. It's full of silly puns, hilarious stereotypes, not-very-threatening monsters, and as much hamming as a pigpen. Those two harried actors play eight different roles, male and female, and must be quick-change as well as comic geniuses. Fortunately, David Ira Goldstein happens to have two of the best at his disposal, reuniting Scapin's duo of Bob Sorenson and R. Hamilton Wright to brilliant results. While the show can sometimes become too overwhelming by using over-the-top as a starting point, and could use a bit more directorial modulation to give the audience a few breathing breaks, this is a production that can enjoy the fact that its biggest criticism is that it is too funny.
Servants Jane and Nicodemus welcome you to the misty and madcap Mandacrest Manor. Here the second mistress of the house, Lady Enid, must try to fill the pumps of the original mistress, Irma Vep. The master of the house, Lord Edgar, is an egyptologist, longing for his mummy, and bereaved over his wife and son's deaths. With the help of a long-dead yet strangely seductive Egyptian princess, a kind-hearted werewolf, and other surprising characters, Edgar and Enid try to find happiness while mocking and taking off on everything from Brontë to Bram Stoker.
The script is at turns corny, creepy and indignantly self-aware. To that extent, Mr. Goldstein has pegged things almost perfectly yet again. He has also put together a great team of actors and designers to bring his larger-than-life concept to the stage. Just when you thought things couldn't get any wilder, or good taste couldn't be breached any further, the company one-ups itself once more.
In the roles of Lady Enid, Nicodemus and others, Mr. Wright is indescribably amazing. Each incarnation of his characters may just as well have been accomplished by completely different people. For a man who must spend nearly half his time being dressed offstage, none of the onstage characters betrays this maddening pace. He is completely inside his creations, and in contact with the audience just the exact amount necessary to carry off his roles. He makes it look easy, even when it's harder than any role performed in the past couple of seasons.
As Lord Edgar, Jane and others, Mr. Sorenson is nearly at the same level as Mr. Wright. While he interacts perfectly with his fellow performer, and is also painfully funny, he is just a hair's breadth less differentiating in his various creations. To miss perfection by this amount is still an amazing feat, though, and both of these actors should be given long paid vacations after the quadruple-time work they put into this production.
Complimenting the actors this much is only a part of the kudos to be given, as the designers and running crew are just as deserving of praise. Drew Boughton has returned from his triumphant Scenic Design of Scapin to easily equal his ariZoni-winning creation. The intricately interactive creations of Mandacrest Manor and Egyptian tomb are masterful, and some of the best ever created for ATC. Almost better, though, are David Kay Mickelsen's costumes, which manage to be lush and still easily interchangeable for actors and running crew. Michael Gilliam's lighting and Brian Jerome Peterson's Sound Design are very well done, setting the creepy-yet-comedic mood wonderfully. While at times a bit annoying, but still in the spirit of the festivities, Roberta Carlson's musical composition is just a bit more obvious and pandering than this production deserves. A special note must be made for the wonderful work of Stage Manager Nina Iventosch and seven unbilled members of the running crew, who never allowed the craziness of the quick changes and set manipulations to be seen by the audience.
Mr. Goldstein and Managing Director Jessica L. Andrews have intimated that when the show travels to Phoenix, I may be able to review it from backstage, giving a full report on the unseen dramatic action. With a production this overwhelming, and an absolute need for everything to look easy, it should be very interesting to discover how Arizona Theatre Company has managed to balance the comedy with the complexity this successfully.
Production Details:
The Mystery of Irma Vep by Charles
Ludlam
Arizona Theatre Company
The Temple of Music & Art, Tucson
(520) 622-2823
December 3rd - December 19th, 1999
The Herberger Theatre Center, Phoenix
(602) 256-6995
January 2nd - January 16th, 2000