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Die Mommy Die!
NEW WORLD STAGES
First mounted in Los Angeles in 1999, reimagined as a film in 2003, and now finally making its New York stage debut, Die Mommy Die! is an over-the-top whodunit-who's-doin'-it that refuses to remove its tongue from its cheek for the entire 90 minutes it rollicks across the stage.
The production -- which simultaneously reveres and spoofs the Bette Davis and Joan Crawford "grande guignol" films of the 1950s and 60s -- features Charles Busch doing double duty as both the play's author and star, the washed-up pop diva Angela Andrews. Angela has troubles far beyond her languishing career: Her marriage is over, thanks to her affair with an out-of-work and legendarily well-endowed younger actor (Chris Hoch); her high-strung daughter (Ashley Morris) has eyes (and possibly other more private parts) only for Daddy (Bob Ari); and her son (Van Hansis) was just kicked out of college for instigating an orgy with the male professors in the math department. Angela decides the only way out is murder, but when a poisoned suppository, an acid-trip ambush, and a misbehaving putty-faced maid (Kristine Nielsen) are unexpectedly factored into the equation, nothing goes quite as she planned.
The entire cast is dedicated to the fullest possible extension of every pun and innuendo in the script, but Busch is especially wonderful as Angela. His husky delivery (a fusion of Cher, Divine, and Clue's Miss Scarlet) guarantees that even the most throw-away lines get laughs. There are a few brief moments when the shtick becomes so thick that the going almost borders on the trudging, but considering the material from which the play draws its inspiration, Die Mommy Die! is a standout example of how much can be gained -- and enjoyed -- by viewing society, celebrity, and family through such a mercilessly high-camp lens.
Noah Michelson
New World Stages
340 West 50th Street, New York, NY
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