Playwright: David Cerda. At: Mary's Attic, 5400 N. Clark St. Tickets: www.handbagproductions.org; $22-$40. Runs through: Oct. 31
Hell in a Handbag Productions is at it again and, this time, it's with a terrifying trio of stories wrapped up in one production called Scream, Queen, Scream! Inspired by horror classics like Creepshow and Tales from the Crypt, there is a drag Cryptkeeper serving as hostess and large comic book panels on the set.
The first tale, titled Taco Tuesday, goes for blood and hits a vein with office politics. There are so many great one-liners that it is almost hard to keep up with the production. Rachel Hadlock oozes creepiness in the role of the temp who takes over the place and stirs up scares for Satan. Many of us working day jobs downtown can identify with this story and may know someone exactly like Candy with a C.
The Box pokes fun of the monster-in-a-crate idea in the second segment. The hateful Betty Carr, played by David Cerda, stomps on the other characters and pays the price. A transition using shadow puppets was utilized brilliantly toward the end.
The third story stalls a bit but takes a stab at gothic horror, and one character even uses the excuse of making it up as the actors go along. Ed Jones faces the challenge of playing twin sisters on the stage in Shut Up and Die, Maggie! There are some hilarious campy moments and a song that invokes the film Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte. A Bette Davis accent pops in for a bit as well but quickly fades.
It's tricky to play these duo roles so, hopefully, the two sisters can be fleshed out more during the show's run. This section needs some tightening to make the overall production complete, but one can see what they were trying to do. A few cuts and maybe changing the twist at the end could make this piece a showstopper for Jones.
The Mary monitors are used as cues to scream for the audience and had a few glitches signaling people to yell in the wrong placesbut this is an easy fix. How about a signal regarding when it is safe to stand up and buy a drink? There is no intermission and Count Dragula threatens everyone to not talk. A quick cocktail is only going to lift people's spirits with this type of humor, so sneak over to the bar.
Some highlights include a few timely special guests, current event jokes and lesbian humor that's pretty inoffensive. The eye candy was a treat to see and many sarcastic lines were spot-on.
This talented troupe continues to live by the expression "laugh and the whole world laughs with you." This time out, everyone screams and howls along with them for good reason.