Front to Back: Bryce Jensen as Nicodemus Underwood and Kyle McClaran as Jane Twisden in a scene from “The Mystery of Irma Vep” by Charles Ludlam. Opened June 6, 1986 at Pegasus Theatre. Photo by Ronald J. Blunt.
It was easy to pick The Mystery of Irma Vep by Charles Ludlam as one of our 30 favorites. It was a little harder to choose between the 1986 premiere and the 1989 restaging. Both were phenomenal productions of which we were/are very proud!
In the end we chose the 1986 production: We had pulled off a coup, becoming the first theatre company outside of New York City to be granted the rights! It helped establish Pegasus as a comic force to be reckoned with.
Vep was a spoof of gothic horror movies, full of vampires, werewolves, mummies, and double entendres. And all the roles were played by two actors, making “faster-than-the-speed-of-light costume changes”! As one reviewer said, it was “the very definition of camp.”
And oh my, how we excelled at camp! Audiences and critics alike loved the show, calling it a “two-actor howler”, “a victory of virtuosity” that was “wonderfully tacky” and full of “hilarious excess”.
To achieve this tour de force took a small army of dressers backstage and an unflinching resolve to fully realize Ludlam’s vision for the piece. Stage manager Michael Starcher and the dressers followed a large chart backstage that outlined the 34 costume changes required for the show, one of which had to take place in 13 SECONDS. During intermission, the chart noted “Dressers take Valium.”
Actors Bryce Jenson and Kyle McClaran complemented the technical artistry with brilliant performances in all of their roles (as did Edwin Wald and Warren Press three years later.) The experience was breath-taking for the audience as well as the cast and crew.
Since 1986, at least five other DFW theatres have attempted a production of this show, garnering mixed reviews. We’re very proud of the collective effort that went into making our version an unqualified success!