‘VEP’ treatment

By MARGA LINCOLN Independent Record
Thursday, October 15, 2009

The Mystery of Irma Vep could very well be as entertaining backstage at Grandstreet Theatre as it is for the audience out front. The two lone actors in the play, Matt Mhoon and Nathan Wright, each portray four different characters in this hilarious Halloween farce of Gothic thrillers. With 48 costume changes behind the scenes, the actors (each assisted by two costume changers) are swapping clothes, wigs, accents and personas at warp speed. And sometimes, there’s even an offstage exchange when two of an actor’s characters collide.

Charles Ludlam’s highly popular spoof of the Alfred Hitchcock classic thriller, “Rebecca,” opens Friday, Oct. 16, and runs through Halloween. The play also weaves in elements of such creepy classics as “Gaslight,” “Dracula,” the “Mummy’s Curse” and “The Wolfman” and it’s coffin-full of Gothic and ghostly allusions and puns.

Last week found the play’s director, Steve Alexander, juggling as many roles as his two actors.
Sitting in one of Grandstreet’s dressing rooms, Alexander worked on the sound design while he stitched one of Lord Edgar’s shirts. (In a previous lifetime, Alexander worked with the Seattle Opera Costume Shop.) He’s also Grandstreet’s artistic director, and was also putting together the play’s program that day.

The play unfolds as “Lord Edgar brings his new wife, Lady Enid, home to his manor, Mandacrest, which is haunted by the memory of his first wife, Irma Vep,” said Alexander. “And just like in ‘Rebecca’ there’s a sinister house maid.”

In this case, Nathan Wright plays both roles – first in his Lord Edgar knickers and vest and re-appearing mere seconds later as the evil housekeeper Jane Twisden, in her black maid outfit with apron and hat. Costume changes are so swift, the actors (and sometimes the audience) are left breathless.

Ah, but there’s more to the twisted plot – a werewolf on the moor, a mysterious intruder who tries to kill someone and then the question arises: “Is Irma Vep really dead?” In search of clues, Lord Edgar suddenly sets off to Egypt to the tomb of Pev Amri and evokes the curse of the undead. More pandemonium and surprises ensue.

“It’s always been a play I wanted to do,” Alexander said, ever since a former roommate of his was involved in three different productions of Irma Vep. “Anyone who’s seen it becomes addicted to it immediately,” he said. “It’s an actor’s dream to play one of these roles. They have to use every actor’s tool and then some. And they have to do it fast.

“The show is not just about low comedy, but high drama. Ludlam knows how to create real, true characters – people you really care about. The actors work with real high drama and extreme emotions.” It calls for skilled actors with innate comedic timing, said Alexander.

Good chemistry on stage helps, as well, say Mhoon and Wright, who have worked together in “The Rocky Horror Show” and “Lone Star.” “I like comedy,” said Wright, which is why he was drawn to Irma Vep. “I’ve never done a show like this, where you play so many characters,” he admitted. He portrays Lord Edgar, the twisted housekeeper Jane Twisden, the murderous Intruder and Irma Vep.

Mhoon is Lady Enid, Alcazar, Princess Pev Amri and Nicodemus. “I think honestly the challenge of it,” was what attracted him, Mhoon said. “Almost all plays, you play one character. This is fun – it’s crazy.”

A few moments later, they were theatrically sneaking across the stage to cartoon-creepy music as doors creaked and thunder rolled. “People want to see smart comedy and this is real smart comedy,” said Alexander. “It’s kind of a Carol Burnett take on thrillers.”

The award-winning play has been called one of the best comedies ever written, according to Time magazine and the New York Times. And, oddly enough, it became the longest-running play ever produced in Brazil (you can watch clips in Portuguese on You Tube)

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