The cast of Washington Shakespeare Company’s “Camille”.

In Washington Shakespeare Company’s staging of the comedic drag classic Camille (A Tearjerker), the story centers on Marguerite, a freewheeling but sickly prostitute with an assortment of silly friends, who falls in love with the penniless Armand. The cast is all male, save for one curious exception, and even actors who actually play men often join in with boa-wearing and lip-synching.

Director Christopher Henley recreates the original staging of this Camille adaptation, which means sets and costumes are cobbled together with castoffs and secondhand shop finds (Prudence Duvernoy, Marguerite’s milliner, spends the entire show with her lower half wrapped in what appears to be a shower curtain, for example). These flourishes suit the lifestyle of Camille and her friends, who are usually broke and always irredeemably, unapologetically déclassé. It also contributes considerably to the production’s campy appeal, though that appeal begins to wear thin when not backed by appropriately timed comedy.