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| DIE MOMMIE DIE! |
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Uptown turns deliciously campy with 'Mommie' by Lawson Taitte, Dallas Morning News 4/16/2007 ©2007 You know that Coy Covington is the real thing, a genuine diva, because the moment the doors part to reveal him in his fabulous costume as Angela Arden in Uptown Players' Die, Mommie, Die! a roar goes up in the audience. Covington single-handedly revives the glory of Joan Crawford and Susan Hayward – maybe mixed with a bit of Doris Day and even James Cagney thrown in for good measure. As Friday's opening proved, Ms. Allen has come up with an excellent cast in this campy retelling of the ancient Greek story of Clytemnestra and her brood. Jim Johnson plays Angela's coarse husband, producer Sol Sussman, and Nancy Sherrard is Bootsie, the maid with a few secrets of her own. The younger generation is particularly strong. Daughter Edith is hung up on Daddy Sol, and Leslie Patrick proves less is more through cunning underplaying. As her brother Lance, the not-quite-all-there mama's boy who just gotten thrown out of college, Chad Peterson succeeds by means of the opposite strategy – he goes for broke with every shriek and double entendre. Perhaps best of all, Cameron McElyea plays Angela's younger paramour, Tony, as a cross between Bobby Darrin and Robert De Niro, a brooding, dangerous cool guy. Uptown's designers have wrapped them all in trashy glamour. Wade Giampa's set reeks of old-time Hollywood, and Michael Campbell's lighting soaks the actors in perpetual silver-screen sunset. Suzi Shankle's costumes and David Zimmerman's wigs make you want to tack up posters of Nancy Sinatra and Lana Turner. Is Die, Mommie, Die! high camp or low? Both, simultaneously – and just the thing to earn Covington and colleagues a whole new crop of fans. Laughing Mater / Mommie Dearest by Elaine Liner, Dallas Observer 4/19/2007 ©2007 To die for, that's what this Charles Busch comedy is. Coy Covington is the man in the dress as glam chanteuse Angela Arden, circa 1967. Director Andi Allen gets her great cast into gear in a show in which no gesture is too exaggerated. Keeping up with Covington are Cameron McElyea as a Peter Lawford-y tennis pro, Jim Johnson (looking like Phil Silvers) as Angela's husband, Chad Peterson as son, Leslie Patrick as daughter Edie and Nancy Sherrard as the crazed housekeeper. No subtlety required for Uptown's Die, Mommy, Die! There is no such thing as "too big" in a Charles Busch play, and this production isn't just over the top, it's exploding at the seams. Only Dallas' own en traviste expert Coy Covington could so delectably convey the Stanwyck-ian allure of Angela Arden, an aging chanteuse cuckolding her fat movie producer husband (Jim Johnson) with a slick-haired but untrustworthy tennis pro (Cameron McElyea). Conspiring to murder her are daughter Edie (Leslie Patrick) and son Lance (Chad Peterson). In Die, Mommy, Die! Covington earns rafter-shaking laughter with his exquisitely timed gestures, precision-crafted head-snaps and, wait, just where is that key light? Oh, there it is. The plot of the show is too silly for words, but the silliness is what it's all about. Directed by Andi Allen, this one also boasts the most lavish costumes (designed by Suzi Shankle) of any Uptown show this season. Die Mommie Die! by John Garcia, The Column and Talkinbroadway.com April 16, 2007 ©2007 Director Andi Allen certainly did her homework with this production. The staging and blocking created by Ms. Allen for this comedy is perfection. One of the funniest staging pieces is that concerning Tony Parker, played by Cameron McElyea. He is shorter than Coy Covington (Angela) and Jim Johnson (Sol). So Allen constantly had McElyea blocked on the upper level to do these scenes, allowing him to be face to face with them. Ms. Allen has directed all of Mr. Busch's plays at Uptown, each one a major success. She can add this one as well to that glowing list. She clearly understands Busch's voice, themes, and subtext. She knows when to reel in the camp to keep it real. Ms. Allen's direction here is again highly impressive. The production elements for this production are just outstanding. Coy Covington heads the cast as "Angela Arden", the once famous movie star singer who is slowly regaining her voice back. Covington commands the stage with dazzling stage presence that is wrapped in sublime comedic timing, pace, and delivery. Covington provides a comedic tour de force performance here. Jim Johnson easily delivers the funniest performance I have seen him give in a long time. Johnson uses his comedic tools to build a solid, satisfying, and hysterical performance. Also providing major laughs within the evening is Cameron McElyea as "Tony Parker". His comic timing, pace, delivery, and facial expressions are in complete sync with his acting craft that create a rip roaring performance. Rounding out the cast who also provide terrific performances are Chad Peterson as "Lance Sussman"; Leslie Patrick as "Edith Sussman"; and Nancy Sherrard as "Bootsie". Peterson's character is the hippie son who adores his mother but loathes his father. Peterson bounces with zany, frenzied energy and keeps his character floating on a pot swirling cloud resulting in a mirth provoking performance. Ms. Patrick is the daughter of the Sussmans. She loves her daddy and purrs whenever he's the room. As "Bootsie", Nancy Sherrard creates an amalgamation of Margaret White (Carrie's mom), Mrs. Garrett from FACTS OF LIFE, and Rosemary Ackerman from SERIAL MOM. Uptown Players has yet to produce a flat out failure in their short six-year history. They bring the best talent in actors, directors, and designers, and so on to mount superb, thoroughly entertaining theater. This production is no exception. DIE, MOMMIE, DIE! will have you grabbing your sides from laughing so much that I strongly suggest you stretch before entering the theater. GRADE: A+ 'Mommie' Queerest by Arnold Wayne Jones, Dallas Voice 4/20/2007 ©2007 Filmmakers, playwrights and TV shows from Todd Haynes to Carol Burnett have exploited the parody potential of [Ross Hunter-Douglas Sirk potboilers], but none with such vigor as Charles Busch, and Uptown Players' production of his "Die Mommie, Die!" captures the outrageousness of the humor and melodrama with superb style. Stealing bits of plot from "Dead Ringer" and "Leave Her to Heaven," it tells the plot of former singing star Angela Arden (Coy Covington, channeling Davis, Crawford and Susan Hayward in equal parts) to murder her movie mogul husband (Jim Johnson) so she can marry her gigolo boyfriend (Cameron McElyea, who slides across the stage like a human oil slick). Director Andi Allen gleefully encourages her cast to chew the scenery with delightful hamminess, but Covington dominates the show. He's patented the tragic-diva act: The tortured woman who nevertheless always manages to find her key-light. It's yet another triumph for him — and for lovers of high comedy done right. |