Drop Dead Perfect **

Last year’s sold-out production of this camp melodrama by Erasmus Fenn (a pseudonym) was a Critic’s Pick by both the Times and Time Out. That information plus the prospect of seeing Everett Quinton of Ridiculous Theatrical Company fame again raised my expectations high for the current revival at Theatre at St. Clements. Too high, it turns out. While this overwrought tale of Idris Seabright (Quinton), a wealthy woman in the Florida Keys has its madcap moments, they are too few and far between.

While Quentin gets to wear a parade of knockout 50’s outfits, he doesn’t get enough opportunity to really show off his plummy acting chops. Jason Edward Cook is delightful as Idris’s ward Vivien who yearns to leave the Keys to find her way as an artist in Greenwich Village. (It wasn’t until I read my program afterwards that I realized Vivien was played by a man.) Timothy C. Goodwin is solid in the dual roles of narrator and Idris’s pill-pushing attorney who has his eye on Vivien. The sudden arrival from Cuba of the studly Ricardo (Jason Cruz) sets the overly complicated plot in motion. Ricardo is the son of Idris’s sister Lucy and Ricardo Sr. (Lucy and Ricky, get it?), who ditched Idris for her sister.

Cruz gets a non-frontal nude moment and a shirtless scene with ludicrously stuffed boxer shorts. The interior of a cozy Florida cottage of the 50’s is captured well in James J. Fenton’s attractive set. Charlotte Palmer-Lane’s period costumes are a hoot. William Neal’s sound design cleverly incorporates portentous clips from 50’s movies. Joe Brancato directed. It’s all very silly, but not quite silly enough. Running time: 85 minutes, no intermission.

’Tis Pity She’s a Whore ***

Red Bull Theater, which specializes in plays of the Jacobean era, is presenting John Ford’s bloody revenge drama in a solid production at The Duke on 42nd Street. Amelia Pedlow and Matthew Amendt, as incestuous siblings Annabella and Giovanni, lead a strong cast of fifteen. Annabella’s three suitors, Lord Soranzo, Grimaldi and Bergetto, are well-played by Clifton Duncan, Tramell Tillman and Ryan Garbayo respectively. Derek Smith is impressive in the critical role of Vasques, Soranzo’s loyal servant. Franchelle Stewart Dorn makes a fine Putana, Annabella’s tutoress. Everett Quinton is good as Signor Donado, Bergetto’s uncle. Christopher Innvar, as Giovanni’s tutor and confessor Friar Bonaventura, seemed less comfortable than the others with verse. Philip Goodwin, Ryan Farley, Kelley Curran, Marc Vietor, Auden Thornton and Rocco Sisto round out the cast. The complicated plot of competing revenge plots runs like a Swiss clock under Jesse Bergers brisk, confident direction. David M. Barber’s scenic design is elegantly simple and Sara Jean Tosetti’s costumes are attractive. The second act is quite a blood fest, but such were the conventions of the time. The production does not sensationalize the gore. All in all, it was an evening well-spent. Running time: 2 hours 20 minutes, including intermission.                                                                           

The Mystery of Irma Vep: A Penny Dreadful ****

It’s hard to believe that it’s been 30 years since Charles Ludlum’s satire of Victorian melodrama was first staged. Red Bull Theater is celebrating this anniversary with a hilarious revival now at the Lucille Lortel Theatre. The play’s main gimmick is that all seven roles, both male and female, are played by two male actors — Ludlum and his longtime partner Everett Quinton in the original production. Ludlum died tragically three years after the play’s opening, but Quinton is fortunately still with us and has lovingly directed this revival starring Robert Sella and Arnie Burton. The play holds up surprisingly well and the actors acquit themselves quite honorably in all their roles: Lord Edgar and Lady Edith Hillcrest, the masters of Mandacrest; loyal servant Jane, one-legged swineherd Nicodemus, Egyptologist Alcazar, the mysterious Pev Amri, and, of course, Irma Vep. The convoluted plot is ridiculous in the extreme — just know that it involves the deceased first Lady Hillcrest, a vampire, a werewolf and a mummy. The language is floridly archaic (think “fain” and “gibbous”) with nods to Shakespeare and Poe, among others. The fast character changes are very funny, with one brilliant tour de force in the second act. And it’s not often you get to hear a dulcimer duet. The play’s Egyptian scene is side-slappingly funny. Scenic designer John Arnone, costume designer Ramona Ponce, lighting designer Peter West, sound designer Brandon Wolcott and wig designer Aaron Kinchen have all made delightful contributions to the production’s success. Be forewarned — if your tolerance for silliness and high camp is limited, you will not enjoy this show. There is absolutely no redeeming social value, just a lot of laughs. Running time: 2 hours including intermission.