B-Movie Battiness At Arena Stage
Brad Oscar and J. Fred Shiffman star in The Mystery of Irma Vep at Arena Stage.
Brad Oscar and J. Fred Shiffman are the newest odd couple to hit the D.C. stage in Arena’s The Mystery of Irma Vep. And they pull it off twice in one night, first matching wits as a pursed-lipped housekeeper and a gauche stableman, then as a histrionic former actress and her brooding Egyptologist husband. Along the way, they don the roles of tomb guide, ancient mummy and mysterious intruder to boot.
Sound like a lot of work? The exhaustive trading of roles is part of the fun in the two-man farce; originally, author Charles Ludlam and his longtime partner were saddled with the task. It’s hilarious to see how Arena's new production manages to keep characters played by the same actor out of the same room, and to marvel at how quickly a costume change is executed.
How handily this gets pulled off is just one of the many triumphs of director Rebecca Bayla Taichman, who has infused the show with every ounce of B-movie battiness it can handle. Characters mug to the audience menacingly when lightning strikes; credits with playfully ominous bleeding letters humorously introduce the play.
The Mystery of Irma Vep mocks everything from Hitchcock to old monster movies - the director's take on the Daphne du Maurier novel "Rebecca" is the work's most frequent allusion (the action even takes place at "Mandercrest"). The jokes and references are frequently so quick you almost miss them, though sometimes the over-the-top delivery of dialog can make the action feel halted and awkward at moments. Still, at just under two hours packed with vampires and werewolves on the loose and side trips to Egypt, the play really breezes by.
This is a work that calls for pretty broad acting - exaggerated accents, frequent pratfalls - and Shiffman and Oscar are both up to the task. If such a thing can be said, Shiffman’s performance is the more subtle of the two, though Oscar deftly draws upon physical comedy when needed.
The Mystery of Irma Vep runs through July 13 at Arena's temporary Crystal City space. Tickets are available online.