Divamensch

Richard and I saw this play off Broadway on 9/28.  It’s a send-up of Hollywood mysteries and melodramas in the style of The Two Charleses, Charles Ludlam and Charles Busch.  And like those two gentlemen, the show features a man in the role of the leading lady, in this case Ludlam’s partner Everett Quinton.  He’s what might be called hatchet-faced, but he is hilarious.  He THINKS he’s beautiful, which is funny in itself.

 

The show was lacking in lift, and it’s the writing that’s the problem.  The show was carried by the mania of the performances, the *I Love Lucy* references, and the gimmicky music.  I love Yma Sumac as much as the next guy, but a little of that goes a long way.  The best performance in the show was by Jason Edward Cook as the spinster second lead.  He wasn’t just funny, he was also touching.

 

One last note: does every gay-themed performance have to feature hunky young male nudity?  I’m not complaining, but it just seems a little cheap.

 

LOVE, Chris