Theater Online - New York Theater Reviews

Is Charles Ludlam's "The Mystery of Irma Vep" really a mystery“ Well, yes, I suppose-a kind of outrageous, campy, zany one. The play, which garnered several prestigious awards when first performed in 1984 at the Ridiculous Theater Company, is brilliantly concocted utilizing elements of the whodunit genre while simultaneously satirizing and paying tribute to classic 1940 movie melodramas, monster motion pictures and literary icons like the Brontes, Shakespeare and Poe. Nevertheless, there is no doubt about its sheer entertainment value, propelled by uplifting, energetic performances, in MadCaP Productions' top-shelf presentation at the intimate and comfortable Urban Stages Theatre.

The play opens on a dark and stormy Victorian night in the English manor parlor of Lord Hillcrest's ancestral home, Mandacrest Mansion. Realism, eeriness, elegance and touches of hokeyness pervade the room in an impeccably detailed scenic design by Norma Lee Chartoff, whose artistic and manipulative abilities with a small stage shine again in Act II. Enter the ominously straight-laced housekeeper Jane Twisden (Chris Dell'Armo) and the hunched, wooden-legged, bizarre-looking stableman Nicodemus Underwood (Paul Pecorino) who reveal that Egyptologist Lord Hillcrest (Chris Dell'Armo), whose wife mysteriously died three years previous, has returned to the mansion with Enid, the new Lady Hillcrest (Paul Pecorino). Nicodemus exits and moments later Lady Hillcrest appears, soon to be followed by Jane's departure and Lord Hillcrest's appearance. At first, the quick costume changes by Mr. Dell'Armo and Mr. Pecorino are accomplishments of wonder, but as the play progresses (and they assume the roles of four additional characters) the lightening-fast transformations in attire and demeanor become a sheer delight. Additionally, the Ludlam's cock-eyed plot manipulations accompanied by appropriate and often surprising sound (Dr. David B. Smith) and lighting (Ship Scott) effects have the ability to comically please while creating fun-filled anticipation as to what will happen next.

The plot thickens! Think du Mauier's "Rebecca" with a touch of "Jane Eyre," a full moon and Lon Chaney, Frank Langella in black, a "Deliverance" banjo scene . . . Act II takes Lord Hillcrest to Egypt where he encounters tomb hustler Alcazar (Pecorino), a mummy in an exquisite case, and eye-catching Egyptian princess Pev Amiri (Pecorino). The action and hilarity soon return to Mandacrest for more riotous complications and resolutions.

A real tribute should be paid to director Tony Caselli and actors Dell'Armo and Pecorino, whose comic teaming (and timing) is comparable to subtle Abbot and Costello, for tour de force performances which also evoked emotion. Amazingly in all the madness, I came to care about the characters, particularly Lady Enid Hillcrest.

After bows on opening night, there was an excitement and joy in the audience I have not often experienced. And as I walked along 8th Avenue on my way to the 34th Street train station, I reflected on the "magic" good theater can create and considered myself lucky to be-for the moment, at least-part of what might be some crazy, comic cosmic plot.