Reviewed by Michael Edwards
Top to bottom, Psycho Beach Party" at the Matrix Theatre is a fresh, dynamic absolute romp of an evening. With a pace that, by itself, entertains, prepare for an evening of deep cutting social attire with an unbelievably sharp wit that will make you laugh out loud while marveling at the gifted cast, writer, and director of this well-crafted topical work.
Playing with the 1960's California false, clean image and exploiting the recent success of 'Barbie' (with a little John Waters thrown in for good ,measure), "Psycho Beach Party" (think Gidget meets Mommie Dearest meets Sybil) explores identity, gender, community via a less than self-aware LGBTQ lens that leaves its audience, cis or beyond, contemplating its own 'navel'. For a play that moves as quickly and lightly as it does, it's a marvel to walk away with so many deep thoughts.
When lead protagonist, 15-year-old Chicklet (an unbelievably talented Drew Droege in magnificently seamless drag - desperately wants to be a part of the Malibu surfer crowd, she discovers the only thing in the way of achieving this goal is herself...or more precisely, 'herselves'. Chicklet suffers from multiple personality disorder and the characters conjured by he/her splintered mind make for a wild ride though the all too realistic world of what makes us act the way we do socially. From our mothers to the way we see one another, deep rooted and unbelievable funny causes are what this play focuses on thematically, all the while seeming to just play and elicit the hardest laughter I've emitted in a theater in a long time.
Playwright Charles Busch brilliantly walks the line between fast sexy fun and surprisingly deep analysis of social joy and acceptance. The cast is uniformly seamless. From a laugh out loud funny as hell, Thomas Hobson to a suffocatingly sharp and undeniably brilliant Tom Detrinis as Mrs. Forrest (I'm told he was a stand in for the usual actor on the night I attended), I was overjoyed to take in this tightly directed (Co-directors Tom Detrinis and Ryan Bergmann masterfully create a rhythm, world and environment I can truly say, I have never seen before). Everything from stage design, to lights, to costume, costume, costume all worked together like a finely woven piece of twine aiming to thread a very small needle head. With some of the cast being seasoned veterans from Groundlings, Second City etc., the funny was 'funnying' on multiple levels (they even had the unbelievably talented Daniele Gauthier of 'The Black Version Groundlings show).
"Psycho Beach Party"
was top tier theatre from top to bottom and ran through July 7 at
the Matrix Theatre, 7657 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90046.