Whodunit? Or whatdunit? The 30th anniversary revival of Charles Ludlam’s The Mystery of Irma Vep, starts preview performances on April 10 off-Broadway. Everett Quinton directs Arnie Burton and Robert Sella, who both play multiple roles.
The Mystery of Irma Vep careens through Shakespeare, Victorian melodrama, Poe and Hitchcock. After his first wife, Irma, meets her unfortunate demise on the mysterious moors, Egyptologist Lord Edgar takes Lady Enid as his second wife, much to the dismay of his protective maid, Jane, and his leering swineherd, Nicodemus. But when Lady Enid suffers a similarly supernatural attack, life at Mandacrest Estate quickly becomes a gripping investigation where nothing is as it seems.
The Mystery of Irma Vep will celebrate its official opening night on April 17 and play through May 11 at the Lucille Lortel Theater.