Written by orange• September 13, 2016• 5:17 pm• Costa Mesa, Costa Mesa Playhouse, Review, Theater, Uncategorized

Red Scare on Sunset @ Costa Mesa Playhouse – Review

(Photo by Joel D. Castro)

Written by Patrick Chavis

Certain playwrights (not unlike certain film directors) have styles that are so defined and essential to their stories. It almost feels like you’re being hit over the head with them. They positively scream, “HERE I AM EVERYONE. THIS IS MY PLAY!” Charles Busch is one such playwright. Red Scare on Sunset is another stylish show with cross-dressing, gay humor, and satire. LOTS of satire, which is quite enjoyable, although some of the scenic transitions could use a tad more creativity. The Michael Brown directed Red Scare on Sunset packs all of the weirdness and comedic timing you would expect from a Busch script about invading communists.

Story:

Red Scare is set in the 1950s and centers on movie star Mary Dale (played by Jon Spark) and her ever-nagging suspicion that her husband might be cheating 027_red_scare_jonsparks-jpg-small on her. Little does Mary Dale realize that her husband might not be cheating on just her but the entire country via a treacherous ‘”Method Acting Class.”

For the most part, a person should be able to go into a theater show and enjoy the material without having much background on the subject matter. However, before going to Red Scare, you should know that if you haven’t heard of the Cold War/Hollywood Blacklist or don’t know much about either, many, if not all, of the jokes are going to soar right over your head. That’s not to say that this show is highly intellectual. It’s not. There’s a great deal of sophomoric humor in this play. One of my disagreements with Busch is his belief that watching men cross-dress on stage is automatically funny whether it’s part of the story or not. It can be funny, but it seems like something he likes to throw in. That being said, the bread and butter of this particular comedy come from the rabid and ridiculous paranoia that existed at the time. If you can’t identify with or even understand how people saw the world back then, the show will appear flat and only relatively amusing. Busch wrote one of his cleverest plays here, poking fun at the past and American belief systems. Plot-wise, he does keep you guessing.

Direction:

The stage direction and use of the space are very creative and are only lacking in a few areas. There are some scenes where a projector screen is used to explain a setting, 027_red_scare_angelcorrea%2cjuliaboese-jpg-small and you need to fill in the blanks instead of finding a more creative way to transform the set. The best transition is how a red curtain is used to block off the set, keeping the focus on particular characters, especially at the show’s beginning.

Acting:

Jon Spark truly transforms himself in this role. Though it’s obvious he is a man because of his size and build, his voice and mannerisms are a marvel to watch. In my estimation, the entire cast was great, but the scene between Frank Taggert (Angel Correa) and Marta Towers (Juilia Boese) when they are on the pier… what can I say? The passion in that scene is so funny. It can’t possibly be left out.

The Costa Mesa Playhouse is looking for a new theater (any word on available spaces is appreciated). Sadly, this will be one of the last shows performed by the Costa Mesa Playhouse in this particular space. But when they put on performances like this, you know it won’t be the company’s last.