*subject to final licensing approval in January, 2011

By Charles Ludlam

Directed by Marty Pistone

Charles Ludlam’s Obie-winning farce has enjoyed a run as one of the most-produced plays in America. On a "dark and stormy night," Lady Enid arrives at an estate with her new husband, who is under the spell of his deceased first wife and haunted by something that’s prowling the grounds.  Strange things begin to happen around Lady Enid while the mysterious portrait of Irma Vep hanging over the fireplace gazes down upon her.  The Mystery of Irma Vep is a hilarious comedy that satirizes everything from Alfred Hitchcock’s “Rebecca” to “Victorian Melodrama” to “The Mummy's Curse.” This definitive spoof of Gothic melodramas, recently revived Off-Broadway to rave reviews, is a quick-change marathon in which two actors play all the roles. A sympathetic werewolf, a vampire and an Egyptian princess brought to life when her tomb is opened, make this a comedy that has everything.

"Far and away the funniest two hours on a New York stage..,What more meaningful gift could Ludlam bequeath [audiences] than to leave them eternally laughing." N.Y. Times