The Mystery of Irma Vep: A Postview of a Penny Dreadful
The Mystery of Irma Vep: A Postview of a Penny Dreadful
By Charles Ludlam
Starring Joshua Eads-Brown and Doug Bowser
Footlights Theatre, Orlando FL</strong>
I can’t imagine anyone doing this play exactly as written. It’s not like this is about a clever plot or subtle acting or actually scary werewolves, it’s about missed sound cues and ill fitting wigs and women who look like and men and men who…men who…who look like Doug Bowser and Joshua Eads Brown. It’s simply that gay.
And what better place the P-House to get a gung ho audience on a Monday Halloween night? It’s where times are changing at Mandecrest manor: the old mistress has died, a new one arrives, and the servant’s scheme and plot and limp around, wishing things were the same as they always were. With Mr. Bowser as the new lady of the house and the smelly stable hand and Mr. E-B as the house maid and the Master of the Manor, the show relies on quick changes, Velcro wigs and a huge amount of audience disbelief. Mr. E-B is actually convincing as Lord Hillcrest, Bowser slightly less so as the new Lady Hillcrest. When it’s time for a were-transformation, convenient fur on the mantle magically attaches itself, and any awkward or expensive props are kept behind the arrases. A few shards of the fourth wall are lying in the aisle so be careful not to trip over them. I think the sound booth was in cahoots with the actors, and if there was a director, he needs to be congratulated on getting even better comic timing out of ht is pair than they would find on their own. I laughed, I cried, and I didn’t hang out in the parking lot. This was the last Halloween comedy I caught this season, but the best.
For more information on the Footlights Theater, please visit http://www.theparlimenthouse.com or http://www.Wanzie.com</em>
