Review: The Mystery of Irma Vep

(Baltimore, MD / Nov. 16) -- Vaudeville, Wikipedia tells us, brought "musicians, dancers, comedians, trained animals, magicians, female and male impersonators," acrobats, athletes and more, to the stage. Vaudeville was the land of slapstick comedy, of burlesque, of one-liners, bad puns and the art of the "quick change," as players tumbled in and out of costumes as they raced back and forth on the stage from one bit to the next.

Vaudeville died in the 1930s, killed by television and movies, but occasionally we see the spirit of this madcap form of entertainment, alive and well, in plays like the late Charles Ludlam's "The Mystery of Irma Vep" now at Baltimore's Everyman Theater.

"The Mystery of Irma Vep" is directed by Everett Quinton, Ludlam's life partner, who also performed in the first ever production of this comic farce, written in 1984, and it shows, as Quinton does a masterful job in making this "penny dreadful"-a British term for a melodramatic "dime novel"- priceless entertainment.

He's helped considerably by the acting talents of the 2-man cast, Bruce R. Nelson (Lady Enid, Nicodemus, Alcazar) and Clinton Brandhagen (Jane Twisdon, Lord Edgar, An Intruder) who served this silly salmagundi of werewolves, vampires, mummies, and ghosts to a more than appreciative audience last Friday night.

Nelson, a staple at the Everyman, is, in one moment, the fair, young bride of Lord Edgar, all blonde tresses, swishing satin, tremulous lips and clasping hands, and the next, the peg-legged Nicodemus, bald, bad teeth, Cockney accent, he's Smike from "Nicholas Nickelby" all grown up. Later in the play he becomes Egyptian treasure hunter Alcazar, pulling a camel we never see, and struggling with the word "sarcophagus" which he pronounces "sar-car-PHAG-us."

Nelson demonstrates a range of talent rarely seen on the stage, as few actors have the ability to play two characters simultaneously. With a little help from the backstage crew, Nelson holds a hilarious conversation between Lady Enid and Nicodemus, even as the latter is transforming into a werewolf.

Brandhagen matches Nelson in his ability to become the right and proper maid servant Jane one minute, and the stalwart, pit-helmeted Lord Edgar the next to a mad Mr. Hyde-esque intruder who may be a vampire seconds later. Both Brandhagen and Nelson demonstrate near athletic ability in their swift moves on and off the stage, wigs askew, sweat profuse, but never missing a cue, accents just right, mannerisms distinct from character to character--one imagines the actors must lose 10 pounds with each performance!

If vaudeville is the realm of "musicians, dancers, comedians, trained animals, magicians, female and male impersonators," this production is a fitting homage, as we have Lady Enid and Jane playing dueling dulcimers, we have actors trading comic puns (and for one point in the play, a Harvey Korman-breaks-up-at-Tim-Conway moment), we have a stuffed "dead" wolf, a werewolf, some magical special effects, and two men playing six characters, including two women.

The influence of Gothic horror tales by Edgar Allan Poe, Shakespeare, works like Wuthering Heights, Hitchcock's flim "Rebecca" (a haunted portrait of Lady Irma comes to life) are all seen in this play which even features a bit of voodoo and "the curse of the Druids." At play's end, Lady Enid reflects, "Somehow it just doesn't make sense," but then again, it's not supposed to, any more than an episode of "Family Guy" is supposed to "make sense." With "The Mystery of Irma Vep," leave reason behind and prepare, as artistic director Vincent Lancisi told the audience, for some really big laughs.

The Mystery of Irma Vep runs now through December 13th at the Everyman, located at 1727 N. Charles Street. For tickets and more information, call 410-752-2208 or visit www.everymantheatre.org.

 

 

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