BWW Reviews: DROP DEAD PERFECT at St. Clement's Theater

DROP DEAD PERFECT

by Erasmus Fenn

At The Theater at St. Clement's

"Camp" n. or "Campy" adj. refers to intentionally exaggerated thematic or genre elements, especially in television and motion picture mediums. "Camp" style willfully over-emphasizes certain elements of the genre or theme, creating an almost self-satirical milieu.

However camp can be so extreme that it has an amusing and often perversely sophisticated appeal. Such is the case in Erasmus Fin's mock melodrama, "Drop Dead Perfect," currently running at the Theater at St. Clement's. Director Joe Brancato has created a kitschy world that is one part "I Love Lucy" and one part "Golden Girls" with the brilliant Everett Quinton at the epi-center.

Playing the widowed, Daddy-obsessed, Idris, Quinton chews on the scenery and the dialogue with robust verve. Idris is a matronly spinster with a passion for painting still-lifes - however, her fury knows no bounds when her subjects refuse to sit still. Idris is at a cross-roads in her tormented life; with three zany characters competing for pieces of her. Southern Gothic elements abound as Idris contends with her young ward Vivien (Jason Edward Cook) a sculpture "artist" with a penchant for penises, yearning to break free of Idris' overwhelming control over her. Emotionally torn, Idris continually changes her will, with the help of her attorney (Timothy Goodwin) who provides legal counsel and copious amount of pills. All hell breaks loose when her "nephew" played by Jason Cruz, shows up on the scene. He is an absurdly well-endowed, gun-toting, Cuban ex-con, bearing a strong resemblance to Idris' old flame and love of her life.

Unless you are well-versed in 1950s sitcoms - particularly, "I Love Lucy," a great deal of the humor may sail over your head, as the dialogue is thickly laden with such references, right down to the characters names: Fred, Ethel, Lucy and Rickie (even Vivian, borrowed from actress Vivian Vance).

The mad-cap hijinks of the story are wonderfully ludicrous and over-ripe with conscious clichés, as Idris glides effortlessly through the overwrought battles with her ward and hyper-steamy seduction with her nephew. The cast's committed delivery of the play's nonstop string of visual and verbal gags was razor-sharp, and their comic timing totally precise even when delivering the most hilarious and preposterous of lines. But the plot is hardly the point in Drop Dead Perfect. The entire production feels like a great big valentine to a by-gone era and a by-gone artform, raised to its campiest, over-the-top heights by the Ridiculous Theater Company, of which Quinton served as artistic director.

Drop Dead Perfect features choreography by Lorna Ventura, sets by James J. Fenton, lighting by Ed McCarthy, costumes by Charlotte Palmer-Lane and sound by William Neal.

Drop Dead Perfect. By Erasmus Fenn. Directed by Joe Brancato. With Everett Quinton. Running time: 1hr 25mins. No intermission. Theatre at St. Clement's

"Drop Dead Perfect" runs through Oct. 11 at the Theater at St. Clement's, Manhattan; 845-786-2873, dropdeadperfect.com.

Peter Danish

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