THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, September 26, 1996 TAG: 9609260572
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY WENDY GROSSMAN, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 42 lines
CHARLIE HENSLEY and Jamie Beaman dash through trap doors and 70 costume changes in Virginia Stage Company's ``The Mystery of Irma Vep.''
Charles Ludlam's Obie-Award winning comedy kicks off the company's 18th season at 8 p.m. Friday. The final preview is at 8 tonight.
``This play is a spoof of every gothic horror movie you've ever seen,'' says director Chris Clavelli. ``It's got scenes lifted from the pages of `Rebecca,' `Wuthering Heights' and `The Curse of the Mummy.' ''
The two actors play seven roles. Beaman shifts from a hunchback with a wooden leg to a grand lady in a gold brocade gown in under five seconds. Backstage, two dressers rip off silk taffeta bows, slap on mustard jodhpurs and a velveteen dressing gown, plant a freshly lacquered wig on a sweaty scalp. Then the actor runs through the revolving door, jumping over ottomans, slithering through tunnels and doing a bit of voodoo.
``It's a marathon,'' Beaman says.
The show opens with Lord Edgar bringing his young wife, Enid, to her new home, which is haunted by mummies and staffed by bloodthirsty servants.
The play is a spoof within a spoof, Clavelli says, as the characters make fun of the sets, themselves and each other.
You'll see Hensley, the VSC's artistic director, carry around a musket and a dead wolf. Outrun his wheelchair-bound wife. And perform an Egyptian incantation - borrowing a few steps from his aerobics class and the macarena.
``Leave your dignity at the door,'' Beaman warns. ``Come expecting to laugh.'' ILLUSTRATION: Graphic
ON STAGE
What: ``The Mystery of Irma Vep,'' the comedy by Charles Ludlam.
Who: Produced by the Virginia Stage Company
Where: Wells Theater, Norfolk
When: Preview at 8 tonight. Play opens at 8 p.m. Friday and runs
through Oct. 13 (8 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays, with matinees at 4
p.m. Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays)
Call: 627-1234 by CNB