Irma Vep puts gothic movies on fast-forward
June 8, 2009 at 1:24 pm by Curt Holman in theater
MAD MEN: Jeff McKerley (left) and Dolph Amick
The late Charles Ludlam wrote his spoof The Mystery of Irma Vep for a pair of actors, but the Shakespeare Tavern’s production features three stars. In addition to Jeff McKerley and Dolph Amick, who juggle eight roles, Renée Clark provides live piano accompaniment in an ingenious touch that harks back to the silent film era.
Clark’s puckish live soundtrack dovetails perfectly with Irma Vep’s affectionate pastiche of old movies, particularly the gothic horror films and romances of the 1930s and early ’40s. Their music was full of melodramatic melodies and dramatic stings. Stirring, would-be heroic chords accompany Amick’s every entrance as the dashing but tormented Lord Edgar of Mandacrest. Mandacrest is his spooky English manor house rife with hidden passageways, haunted paintings and other mysteries. Despite being a two-man show, Irma Vep feels more populated and textured thanks to Clark’s music, which makes amusing shout-outs to familiar pop tunes, such as Warren Zevon’s “Werewolves of London” and the Indiana Jones theme music.
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(Photo by Jeff Watkins/ASC)
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