Die, Mommy, Die!
Die, Mommy, Die!
By August Busch
Directed by Tim DeBaun
Theater Downtown, Orlando FL</strong>
Rage, jealousy, incent and murder – this is the fodder of Opera, Grand or Soap. What’s the difference? Soap Operas never have a soprano, but Grand Operas eventually end. Sol Sussman (Christian Kelty) hasn’t had a hit movie in a decade and the mob is on his case about $20 million in back vigorish and he’s been constipated since Madrid. He discovers his wife Angela’s (Kevin Bee) infidelity with greasy Tony Parker (Joe Saunders) and his son Lance’ (Scott Poole) addiction to drugs and boys. Good thing his daughter Edith (Jennifer Gannon) dresses in her micro miniskirt for him and faithful retainer Bootsie Carp (Peni Lotoza), well, retains faithfully. Things hit rock bottom when Angela slips him a deadly suppository and poisons Bootsie’s hip flask. This what Wagner would sound like with fart jokes.
This brilliantly campy comedy draws on every Made For TV movie of the past 30 years. Clever audio sample emphasize the pseudo dramatic moments, and the audience supplies the critical laugh tract. While Kelly’s hairpiece is bit goyish and Lotoza’s grasp of Yiddish intonation is funnier than the line she’s supposed to say, the laughs flow like cheap wine. Things peak with Kelty’s rising from the dead with his 5 foot suppository, theme music, and dramatic lighting. Kevin Bee is brilliantly campy, and while it’s not clear why Angela is played in drag, its one of those jokes that wouldn’t survive rationalization.
Like any good camp show or opera, the how and why of the story are unimportant, so long as the spectacle impresses. Paul Horan’s elegant set and Singeresque painting are a deceptively calm canvas for the duplicity and avarice of the Sussman clan. The motivations are vicious, the execution devilish, and the net results is a great Feel Bad comedy. Hope you family isn’t like them, because living in an opera is bad for your health.
For more information, please visit http://www.theatredowntown.net
