Review: THE MYSTERY OF IRMA VEP at Intiman Theatre

There's certainly a lot than can be said for Intiman Theatre's current production of Charles Ludlam's "The Mystery of Irma Vep". It's a classic bit of camp from a bygone era starring two very funny performers (Jesse Calixto and Helen Roundhill), and directed by Jasmine Joshua, a fantastic performer in their own right and the producer who brought us that fantastic gender bent production of "Little Shop of Horrors" a few years back. So much going for it that it even made my "Top 10 Seattle Productions to Look Forward To in 2022" list. Unfortunately, as much as it had going for it, it also had plenty going against it. A script definitely from a bygone era and a company that kept getting mired in their own jokes, making this a fun show but not the gut buster I was hoping for.

The story is your basic penny dreadful that's been used time and time again. Lord Edgar (Roundhill) has moved back to his home Mandacrest with his new wife, Lady Enid (Calixto), after the loss of his previous wife, Lady Irma (also Roundhill), much to the chagrin of the housekeeper Jane (also Roundhill). But things are not right in Mandacrest as a mysterious figure is wandering the moors out for blood. Plus, things are not quite right with the staff, such as the creepy groundkeeper Nicodemus (also Calixto), and it appears no one is safe.

In case you missed it, Calixto and Roundhill play all the characters in the show as they run in and out of scenes managing lightning-fast costume changes not to mention playing gender swapped roles, which was kind of the point that queer icon Ludlam was going for as he attempted to thrust these characters into mainstream society. But the thing is, he did this in the 50's through the 80's when things like this were still viewed as risqué or even taboo but today it's just par for the course. Even Joshua and the Intiman found some of the humor in the play so dated that they got permission to change it as they noted in their director's notes in the program. And while still fun and funny, at times the show comes off as a bit tedious these days especially if you actually try to dissect the story. OK, but it's a farce. I hear you. And if you turn off your brain, the show does manage to work on some levels. But on others, well, I wish the folks at the theater could remember the old adage, "less is more".

A recurring gag that they kept leaning into is the fact that someone is taking time to change off stage, so the person left on stage must fill that time. Great, it's a wonderful bit and key to the show. But they kept leaning into it so hard that at times it came off as self-indulgent. At one point we find Lady Enid playing her guitar to calm her nerves and launching into a rendition of Seal's "Kiss from a Rose", seemingly to cover for a costume change. But then Roundhill comes out and joins in. So, there's no costume change. And they did the entire song which resulted in a few laughs at start and then devolving into awkward chuckles. And then there was the set change where they projected an interminable movie showing people travelling from other movies in order to cover the change. But the set they were changing was behind a curtain so I'm not sure there was much to change. So, did we need all that? It was repeated moments like this that kept stopping the flow and sapping the life from what could have been an uproarious show.

Calixto and Roundhill are superb physical comedians and kept things going as much as they could. Roundhill's pitch perfect crazed housekeeper, Jane, made for the perfect villain and foil to Calixto's flustered diva, Lady Enid. The two of them seem to switch in and out of their various characters with ease and made each one a delight to watch.

Overall, the show manages more than a few laughs and a good time. Just not as consistently good a time as I was hoping. And so, with my three-letter rating system, I give Intiman Theatre's production of "The Mystery of Irma Vep" a "why didn't this blow me over?" MEH+. Bringing out a classic of queer culture is great, but it still needs to remain funny.

"The Mystery of Irma Vep" from the Intiman Theatre performs at the Erickson Theatre through February 26th. For tickets or information visit them online at www.intiman.org.

To post a comment, you must register and login.