Robert Hamilton and Bob Sorenson in Arizona Theatre Company's 1999 production of The Mystery of Irma Vep. Photo: Tim Fuller/ATC
What is the mystery of Irma Vep? Well, we certainly aren’t going to provide any plot spoilers here.
What can be revealed is that it’s coming back to Tucson by “popular demand,” according to Jeff Grynkewich, Arizona Theatre Company’s (ATC) marketing and PR manager. Grynkewich reveals that since its production 11 years ago, it has been most often requested as a favorite of ATC patrons.
A satire of several genres of theater and film such as Victorian melodrama, farce and Hitchcock’s Rebecca, Charles Ludlam’s entertaining diversion has, since its Greenwich Village introduction in 1984 and subsequent late 1990s revival off-Broadway, gone on to become one of the most produced plays in America. It was also the longest running play ever produced in Brazil.
Grynkewich says, “Based on some statistics I’ve seen that justifies that, it’s amazing that it can be the most produced, because of the amount of talent required by actors in the role, since there are just two of them.”
The two actors in question here are Bob Sorenson, who was in the Tucson production 11 years ago, and Oliver Wadsworth, who operates out of both New York and Phoenix as a stage and film actor. David Ira Goldstein directs.
The eight characters include Lord Edgar and Lady Enid, Jane Twisden and Nicodemus Underwood (the maid and a swineherd, respectively), plus many otherworldly creatures such as ghosts, vampires, mummies and werewolves.
The setting is Mandacrest Estate, the lord and lady’s home, and a tomb in Egypt, requiring set construction wizards to perform feats of scenic trickery. An online photo tour of set building is planned to add to the intrigue. At least 35 costume changes present challenges for cast and crew alike, requiring lightning-fast transformations and dexterity of monumental proportions - and some really skillful dressers backstage.
This mostly family-friendly production (the double entendres and cryptic allusions will probably be incomprehensible to young people in the audience) is an appropriate finale to ATC’s 2010-2011 season, which mixed a couple of classics with a world premiere, several musicals and a comedy show.
After all, laughing until you can’t breathe (to quote the official description) cannot be matched for leaving a good impression on the theatre-going public.
Performances take place at the Temple of Music and Art, 330 S. Scott Ave., from April 9-30. Details at ArizonaTheatre.org and 884-8210.
