Sunday, January 26, 2020

The Confession of Lily Dare

B+

If you have a low tolerance for high camp and Charles Busch’s (The Divine Sister, Vampire Lesbians of Sodom, The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife) brand of female impersonation, you can skip this play and the rest of this review. If, on the other hand, you are a Busch devotee, you will want to hurry to the Cherry Lane Theatre for his newest play's Primary Stages premiere. My fears that Busch’s usual shtick might have gone stale by now proved unfounded. As both performer and playwright, he is in good form. In the words of the program, the title character, played by Busch of course, goes “from convent girl to cabaret chanteuse to infamous madame.” Busch has been very generous to the rest of the cast, particularly to Jennifer van Dyck (The Divine Sister, Two Shakespearean Actors) and Christopher Borg (Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind), both of whom get ample time to shine in multiple juicy roles. The other three actors only have a single role to fill. Nancy Anderson (Wonderful Town, A Class Act) and Kendal Sparks (Judith of Bethulia, Where’s Charley) are both fine as Lily’s longtime friends. The final cast member is none other than Howard McGillin (The Phantom of the Opera, Anything Goes), who fits right in as Lily’s suave nemesis. As in any Busch work, there is no shortage of laugh lines. Lily’s cabaret rendition of “Pirate Joe” is worth the price of admission. The action does lag occasionally; a slight trim would be beneficial. The costumes by Rachel Townsend and wigs by Katherine Carr are a show all by themselves. The set by Brian T. Whitehill (You Should Be So Lucky) is not at the same level, but good enough. Carl Andress (The Divine Sister, Die Mommie Die!) once again shows his talent for directing Busch’s work. Depending on your comfort level for camp, you will either be delighted or miserable. Running time: two hours including intermission.

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