I caught Mattie Van Buren before the show and asked her to pose for a photo. Very obliging. I had no idea I would fall in love. (Notice the tennis shoes! A girl would die!)Went to see "Devil Boys from Beyond" in the West Village as part of the New York Fringe Festival. I like to say I knew to seek out such outre theatre, but it was Sean's suggestion and all I did was show up and buy a ticket. It was a sold out show and had many famous (not to me) drag queen actors in it. A lot of Charles Busch and Charles Ludlum's The Ridiculous Theatrical Company legacy here.
The play is a drag take on old melodramas, love triangles and 50's sci-fi films.
I have to say the stand out for me was Paul Pecorino as "Mattie Van Buren." S/he really knocked this camp, Crawford, eyeballs a-swaying, back and eyebrows an-arching role out of the park. Very funny.
The other stand outs were the costumes and especially the inventive staging. I am a sucker for inventive staging and storytelling. (See "39 Steps") Here the scene changers really added to the show. A scene takes place on a plane in flight. There is a storm. This was conveyed by way of silver tinsel hung from a shower rod shaken behind a small blow up plane dangled in front as the two standhands moved along the stage. Simple, funny, and excellent.
The New York Times blogged about the show here.
