REBECCA MEETS BENNY HILL
THE MYSTERY OF IRMA VEP
Directed by Janis Stevens;
written by Charles Ludlam; sets by Chez Cherry; costumes by Megan Moriarty;
lighting by Lynne Chase; sound by Rew Tippin
With: Mike Anthony and Dustin Tucker
At the Theater at Monmouth in Monmouth, Maine
Performed in repertory from July 18, 2008 to August 23, 2008
Reviewed by Laurie Meunier
Graves
How to describe The
Mystery of Irma Vep? As the title of this review indicates, take the
famous gothic novel Rebecca, combine it with the British
cross-dressing cast from The Benny Hill Show, add a splash of
Young Frankenstein and The Carol Burnett Show, and fold in bits
of old horror movies. Cook at a furious boil for an hour and a half or so
until it becomes really thick and heavy, then spread it in a pan and wait
until it becomes so hard that you have to crack it with a hammer. The
result? I’m not entirely sure, but Irma Vep certainly has a unique
flavor.
In less fanciful terms,
Irma Vep, written in 1984, is a parody of all tales gothic and horror as
well as the “Penny Dreadfuls” of the nineteenth century. According to the
Theater at Monmouth’s program, Charles Ludlam, the playwright, had long
wanted to use “the old vaudeville trick of the quick-change as the basis for
a whole play.” Thus Irma Vep was born, whereupon two actors play
eight characters and in the process dash madly back and forth from onstage
to offstage, alternating between male and female characters. The changes are
done mostly in a matter of seconds, and I can only imagine what a challenge
this play must present to the two actors. In the Theater of Monmouth’s
production, both actors, Mike Anthony and Dustin Tucker, were visibly
sweating, and no wonder.
To sum up the plot: Lady
Enid Hillcrest (Dustin Tucker), newly married to Lord Edgar Hillcrest (Mike
Anthony), has come to Mandacrest Estate only to find she is in competition
with Irma, the dead first wife. Jane Twisden (Mike Anthony), the
housekeeper, remains seemingly loyal to Lady Irma, and thinks Lady Enid is
“too common.” Lady Enid, quite naturally, resents this favoritism and comes
to believe that her husband is also still obsessed with the dead Irma. Other
complications ensue. Vampires and werewolves stalk the inhabitants of
Mandacrest. Nicodemus Underwood (Dustin Tucker), a servant with a hump and a
wooden leg, stumps about in a menacing manner. Is he part of the problem or
the solution? Who knows? By the time Lady Enid is attacked and has a nervous
collapse, the audience feels her pain.
Then, after plenty of
sexual innuendo along with some flatulence jokes, it’s off to Egypt, where
we get more of the same. What is Lord Edger doing in Egypt? Again, who
knows? But a lot of laughs are squeezed from Egyptian tour guide Pev Amri’s
(Dustin Tucker) tortured English. Finally, it’s back to Mandacrest for the
“shocking” conclusion.
On the night I saw Irma
Vep, the audience just loved this play. Their peals of laughter were as
loud as Lady Enid’s peals of horror. And why not? The play is full of
tomfoolery and folderol, and watching actors scurry furiously until they
sweat is always satisfying. Mike Anthony played his various roles fairly
straight, but Dustin Tucker did so much shrieking and posturing that I felt
as though I were watching a production of Pyramus and Thisbe
performed by the incompetent actors in A Midsummer-Night’s Dream.
Five minutes of this shrieking, over-the-top acting is fun. However, after
an hour and half, it starts to wear on the nerves. As Elizabeth Bennet
observed in the film version of Pride and Prejudice, “Of some
pleasures, I believe, a little go a long way.”
But never mind. The rest of
the audience laughed themselves silly, and who am I to begrudge them their
fun? 
