VAMPIRES, MUMMIES AND WEREWOLVES TAKE THE STAGE IN CHARLES LUDLAM’S CULT CLASSIC THE MYSTERY OF IRMA VEP PLAYING ON BERKELEY REP’S THRUST STAGE APRIL 9—MAY 23 Arnie Burton and Erik Steele Make their Berkeley Rep Debuts Playing More Than 16 Roles BERKELEY CA, MARCH 15, 2004 Berkeley Repertory Theatre continues the 2003/04 Season with Charles Ludlam’s outrageously theatrical cult classic, The Mystery of Irma Vep, directed by Associate Artistic Director Les Waters. A tour-de-force quick-change comedy for two actors playing more than 16 roles, the production begins previews on Berkeley Rep’s Thrust Stage on April 9, 2004, opens April 14 and closes May 23. Berkeley Rep’s production of Irma Vep is made possible by Production Sponsor Contra Costa Times and Season Sponsor BART. This long-running hit show, which put the late writer/director/performer Charles Ludlam and his Ridiculous Theatrical Company into the spotlight after its original 1984 production, finally makes its way to the Berkeley Rep stage. Subtitled “A Penny Dreadful,” (the name for cheaply printed paperbound books of adventure or mystery popular in the 19th century), Irma Vep is a comic send-up of Victorian melodrama and classic horror films featuring such characters as a werewolf, a vampire and an Egyptian mummy. Borrowing from Joyce, Wilde, Poe and Ibsen, classic horror movies, Gaslight, Wuthering Heights, Gothic novels and the movie Rebecca, Ludlam’s witty literary allusions and subversive political jabs take the play far beyond campy slapstick comedy to make it an enduring modern classic. While he has been compared with Shakespeare and Molière, Charles Ludlam was an “underground” artist whose entire aesthetic was about tearing down tradition and the cultural elite. The founder of the Ridiculous Theatrical Company, an avant garde theatre group in New York, Ludlam became celebrated for his outrageous, crowd-pleasing campy parodies. Of his 29 works, highlights include: Turds in Hell (his version of the Satyricon); Bluebeard (based on H.G. Well’s Island of Dr. Moreau), for which he won his first Obie Award; Stage Blood (based on Hamlet); and Der Ring Gott Farblonjet, a version of Finnegan’s Wake. Ludlam wrote Irma Vep (his 25th play) as a vehicle for himself and his partner, Everett Quinton, who had little prior acting experience before joining the company. The play brought them both national acclaim, although Ludlam only had a few years to enjoy his fame; he died from complications from AIDS in 1987. While the success of The Mystery of Irma Vep was originally thought to depend on Ludlam and Quinton’s star-turns, the play has gone on to become a big hit around the country and internationally with other casts. In 1991 it was one of the most-produced plays in America, and after eight years it recently became the longest-running play in Brazil. Berkeley Rep Associate Artistic Director Les Waters previously directed Yellowman, Suddenly Last Summer and Big Love for Berkeley Rep. He most recently directed Naomi Iizuka’s At the Vanishing Point for the Humana Festival. He also directed Big Love at the Humana Festival, Long Wharf Theatre, Goodman Theatre and the Next Wave Festival at BAM. Additional local credits include Buried Child and Glengarry Glen Ross at A.C.T. Other directing credits include Wintertime, Nebraska, Life During Wartime, The Importance of Being Earnest and Nora for La Jolla Playhouse; Ghost on Fire and Spinning Into Butter for The Goodman; The Designated Mourner and The Memory of Water for Steppenwolf Theatre Company; Life During Wartime at Manhattan Theatre Club; Fen, Ice Cream with Hot Fudge, Rum and Coke and Romeo and Juliet for the New York Shakespeare Festival/Public Theater. He has also directed at theatres across the U.K. The cast for Irma Vep features two actors making their Berkeley Rep debuts. Arnie Burton, who plays Lady Enid, Nicodemus, among other roles, appeared in the Broadway production and national tour of Amadeus. His Off-Broadway credits include The Last Sunday in June and Mere Mortals at Primary Stages and at the John Houseman. He spent several seasons with the Pearl Theatre Company and has worked at Berkshire Theatre Festival, the Old Globe, the Alley, Studio Arena, among others. His film and television work include roles on Frasier, Hope & Faith, Caroline in the City, Sister Sister, Oh Baby and the film, Igby Goes Down. Erik Steele, who plays Lord Edgar and Jane, among others, makes his West Coast debut with Irma Vep. He played Valere in Tartuffe on Broadway with Brian Bedford and J. Smith Cameron. Off-Broadway credits include Bloody Poetry, Hedda Gabler and A Floating Roof Above Your Heads. His extensive regional credits include work with The Guthrie, The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Virginia Stage and the Berkshire Theater Festival. The design team for Irma Vep includes scenic and costume designer Annie Smart, who last designed sets and costumes for Yellowman. Locally, she designed sets for Suddenly Last Summer and Big Love at Berkeley Rep, and The Threepenny Opera, Night and Day and A Doll’s House at A.C.T. Lighting Designer Robert Wierzel returns to Berkeley Rep, where he previously designed Big Love, Each Day Dies with Sleep and The Stick Wife. His recent New York credits include The Two Noble Kinsmen (The Public Theatre); Intrigue with Faye (MCC) and Savanna Bay (Classic Stage Company). Composer Peter Golub spent ten years as the resident composer with the Ridiculous Theatrical Company, where he composed the original score for Irma Vep. He is the composer of numerous works for theatre, film, ballet and concert halls. His work was last heard at Berkeley Rep in The Laramie Project. On Thursday, April 15, Berkeley Rep presents night/OUT at Berkeley Rep: an LGBT evening of theatre and socializing. The $43.00 price ($20.00 for those under 30) includes the performance and a post-show party. There will be three moderated post-play discussions held following the evening performances on Thursday, April 29; Tuesday, May 11; and Friday, May 21. Single tickets for The Mystery of Irma Vep are priced between $39.00 and $55.00, depending on the day of the week. Group discounts are also available, as well as student and senior half-price “Rush” tickets. Twenty half-price “HotTix” go on sale at noon at the Berkeley Rep Box Office Tuesday through Friday for that evening’s performance (cash only). Berkeley Rep also offers $20.00 tickets for anyone under the age of 30 (with valid ID). This discount is subject to availability and is not offered for Saturday night performances. Berkeley Rep’s Thrust Stage is located at 2025 Addison Street, one block from Berkeley’s downtown BART station and close to AC Transit bus lines. The Theatre is accessible to the handicapped, offering wheelchair seating and special services for the visually and hearing impaired. For information or to charge tickets by phone with VISA, MasterCard or American Express, call the Berkeley Rep Box Office at 510.647.2949 or toll free at 888.4BRTTix. Additional information and on-line ticketing is available at www.berkeleyrep.org. ABOUT BERKELEY REPERTORY THEATRE The Tony Award-winning Berkeley Repertory Theatre, founded in 1968, has established a national reputation for its ambitious programming and dynamic productions. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Tony Taccone and Managing Director Susan Medak, Berkeley Rep seeks to engage its audience in an ongoing dialogue of ideas. Through its choice of material and bold, vivid style of production, Berkeley Rep reflects a commitment to diversity, excitement and quality. The company is especially well known for presentation of important new dramatic voices and its fresh adaptations of seldom-seen classics. In December 2001, Berkeley Rep opened The Roda Theatre, a 600-seat proscenium theatre that complements the existing 400-seat Thrust Stage. In December 2001, the company opened the Nevo Education Center, home of the new Berkeley Rep School of Theatre. The addition of these two buildings has transformed what was once a single stage into a vital and versatile performing arts complex. THE MYSTERY OF IRMA VEP written by Charles Ludlam directed by Les Waters cast: Arnie Burton and Erik Steele designers: Annie Smart (scenic and costume design); Robert Wierzel (lighting design); Peter Golub (composer) TICKET PRICES DAY & TIME TICKET PRICE Preview Performances (Fri/Sat/Tue 8PM, Sun 7PM) $39.00 Opening Night (Wed 8PM) $50.00 Tuesday and Thursday evenings 8PM $43.00 Wednesday evening 7PM $43.00 Friday evening 8PM $49.00 Saturday evening 8PM $55.00 Sunday evening 7PM $45.00 Thursday and Saturday matinees 2PM $43.00 Sunday matinee 2PM $45.00 DISCOUNTS 20 half-price HotTix go on sale at noon Tuesday—Friday Student/Senior half-price Rush one-half hour before curtain Groups of 15+ contact 510.647.2949 $20.00 for anyone Under 30, some restrictions apply TICKET INFO 510.647.2949 or 1.888.4BRTTix or www.berkeleyrep.org LOCATION Berkeley Rep’s Thrust Stage / 2025 Addison Street (between Shattuck and Milvia) BACK TO TOP