PORT TOWNSEND — Perhaps you’re an admirer of Hitchcock. Or maybe it’s a vampire story you’re thirsty for.
Then again, camp, comedy and cross-dressing could be your cups of tea.
Whichever, Irma Vep is your lady.
She’s popular. “The Mystery of Irma Vep,” Charles Ludlam’s multi-level satire, premiered off-off-Broadway in 1984, and seven years hence had become the most-produced play in the United States.
Now “The Mystery” has arrived at the Key City Playhouse, where Amy E. Sousa is directing the cast of two men portraying eight characters.
They usher us into Mandacrest Estate, where Lord Edgar, an Egyptologist, and his second wife Lady Enid reside.
Edgar, it must be noted, is not over the passing of his first wife, Irma Vep.
Her name just happens to be an anagram of vampire.
The Mandacrest staff, meanwhile — Jane the maid and Nicodemus the groundskeeper — have their own opinions of Lady Enid.
During this play’s run through July 19, these and other figures arrive in the forms of Seattle actors John Clark and Curtis Jacobson. The pair gets to revel in Ludlam’s references to pop culture and high culture, from Hitchcock’s “Rebecca” to Shakespeare — while changing costumes no fewer than 35 times.
Ludlam “is called one of the originators of camp as a style,” said Sousa.
An actor in New York City, “he was told at one point he was too effeminate for the stage and had no business being there.
“So he said, ‘Fine then,’” and created his very own thing.
A prolific playwright and director, Ludlam often appeared in his own plays and was noted for his female roles.
He went on to receive fellowships from the Guggenheim, Rockefeller and Ford foundations, grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the New York State Council on the Arts and six Obie Awards. The last one came two weeks before his death in 1987, after he was diagnosed with AIDS. Twenty-two years later, Ludlam was inducted posthumously into the American Theater Hall of Fame.
Clark, for his part, believes “The Mystery of Irma Vep” lives on as a gem for actors and audiences alike.
“It spoofs so many favorite genres,” he said: classic love stories like Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre along with the Hitchcock and the guys in drag. Buster Keaton-style comedy and literary references coexist in the script.
“One thing that appeals to me about this show,” Clark added, “is how much fun there is to be had. Yes, there’s a lot of work and sweat involved, but it is worth it.
“We are creative by nature, and there is plenty of room for that.”
Sousa hails the crew, too: Costume designer Libby Wentworth created many “Vep” getups from scratch. Sound designer Johanna Melamed of Seattle has added excerpts from all manner of movies and pop albums, carefully chosen while poring over the script. Set designer David Langley and lighting designer Karen Anderson, meanwhile, provide Mandacrest’s creepy atmosphere.
“We pull out all the stops,” Clark said. “No stone is left unturned.”
