Red Scare on Sunset
If you like spoofs and farce, then Red Scare on Sunset may be for you. A take off on McCarthyism and Hollywood paranoia, the first act of this satire sets up a situation in which a female American star, Mary Dale, discovers that the people around her, friends, director, husband and house boy are all mixed up in a communist plot to take over the film industry, and, among other things, do away with the star system.
In keeping with the author’s original concept, Mary is portrayed by a man, (Drew Droege, who plays with commitment and energy) and this does increase the comedic value of some of the lines, particularly those highlighting gay bashing. The first act is rendered in a fairly realistic manner with Michelle Begley stealing the show in her honest and believable portrayal of the close minded, mean spirited radio talk show host, celebrity, and best friend, Pat Pilford. Also commendable was Dane Whitlock’s appealing and spirited portrayal of several characters.
Author Charles Busch, wrote and starred in such plays as The Lady in Question, Psycho Beach party, and Vampire Lesbians of Sodom, one of the longest running plays in Off Broadway History. He truly entered the spot light with his play The Tale of The Allergist’s Wife which won him the Outer Circle Critics John Gassner Award and received a Tony nomination for Best Play. He also wrote and stared in the film version of his play, Die Mommie Die.
Unfortunately, the second act of Red Scare fares less favorably than the first. It loses all restraint and sinks into a silly, over done, camp, ridiculous, empty show with no attempt whatsoever made to maintain a semblance of reality and so the accompanying pathos real characters can engender is missing. The director could have helped here, but the writing also left much to be desired.
Again, if this is your kind of thing, have at it.
The Attic Theatre
5429 W. Washington Blvd. (between Hauser and Fairfax)
Through Sept. 12 through Oct 18 Fri and Sat at 8 PM and Sun at 2:00 PM
Tickets: $20 at (323) 525-0600 ext 2# or www.attactheatre.org/tickets