Written by orange• October 28, 2026• 6:34 pm• Curtis Theatre, Theater, Uncategorized

A Hollywood Horror Story @ Curtis Theatre – Review

photo credit: Austin Bauman

Written by Patrick Chavis

A Hollywood Horror Story played for one Night only at the Curtis Theatre on October 25th. If the play is ever remounted, we will let you know.

A Hollywood Horror Story, written and performed by Ingrid Garner, is a one-person show that brings us into the dressing room of the iconic 50s Vampira, Malia Nurmi. During the show, Garner, as Nurmi, talks about her short-lived TV show, “The Vampira Show,” that inspired a generation of actors and musicians, even though she struggled financially in real life.

The show focuses on her relationship with James Dean, the controversy surrounding his tragic death at 24, and other stars she crossed paths with, including the little-known star Marilyn Monroe and much more.

Like Vampira, this show isn’t modest, and Garner is very comfortable during production, going from fully clothed to bra and undergarments.

This is not a show for kiddies.

Garner is fantastic in this role, talking, moving, and dancing, and even impersonating other actors from Nurmi’s perspective as Vampira.

If you enjoy true Hollywood stories from a unique perspective, this scratches the itch, and Garner has the gusto to hold your attention well past an hour. Still, she only needs an hour to tell this important story about people trying to create a place where they can belong. And the impact one person can have on the world by just being themselves.

The horrifying part is that it’s only one night at the Curtis, as part of the Amplify initiative, a program designed to address inequality and systemic prejudice in performing arts programming.

Garner’s performance is accompanied by a good assortment of video and still images, beautifully rendered on the back of the stage.