Mystery of Irma Vep
Posted on Friday, September 7, 2007
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/nwat/WhatsUp/56941/
The show's requirements were numerous.
When casting for "The Mystery of Irma Vep," TheatreSquared managing director Morgan Hicks was looking for two men who wouldn't be overwhelmed by memorizing close to 30 pages of dialogue and making at least 50 character changes. Not only did they have to be funny and possess a believable English accent, they also had to be physically fit to get from one side of the stage to the other in an instant.
And just one more thing ...
"I think it wouldn't hurt to be a little schizophrenic," she joked.
Two actors, both with the first name of Jason, will have their work cut out for them playing four characters each when the show opens at 8 p.m. today at the Studio Theater in Nadine Baum Studios.
"I definitely wanted to find actors that were skilled enough to take on the challenge of creating those individual roles," Hicks said. "I wanted each of those characters to have depth to them so it wasn't a caricature or a superficial approach."
Written by Charles Ludlam, the play is a satire on several theatrical and film genres and most notably spoofs Alfred Hitchcock's "Rebecca." Jason Grimm's lead role is Lord Edgar, the play's central character who runs into a series of obstacles after he moves into Mandacrest Mansion with his second wife, Lady Enid, under the assumption that his first wife, Irma Vep, had officially left the premises.
Grimm joins the TheatreSquared family after relocating from Chicago where he worked as a touring company member of Second City and performed in other productions. After deciding to direct the show, Hicks asked Grimm, whom she has been friends with for 10 years, to do the part.
Jason Engstrom's lead role is Nicodemus Underwood, Lord Edgar's servant. Engstrom, who hails from Seattle, is a University of Arkansas graduate student who played Wilson in TheatreSquared's production of "Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse" last season.
The production will feature T2's most elaborate costumes and scenery to date, Hicks said. She saw to that by hiring costume designer Holly Payne from the Milwaukee Repertory Theater and Shawn Irish, a scenic and lighting designer based in New York City. Like Grimm, they are good friends of Hicks'.
"I've tried to bring the very best people that I've had the most fun working with," she said.
This will be Hicks' debut as the main director of a TheatreSquared show after serving as assistant director for the company's first production, "Bad Dates," in May 2006. Hicks said she was thrilled to help TheatreSquared stage a pure comedy.
"We haven't had a chance to do a broad comedy, and we wanted to bring that to the audience as well," she said. "We haven't showcased our ability to make people laugh."