MAY 6, 1994 GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE 17

ENTERTAINMENT

A light-hearted evening out of the closet

Movieland

Charles Ludlam Theatre

Greenwich Village, New York City

Reviewed by Barry Daniels

At the beginning of Movieland, the new production at the Ridiculous Theatrical Company, Everett Quinton, dressed in a black cocktail dress and heels, enters the stage breathlessly and bolts the door. He is playing an aging grade-B movie star, Ruby Stevens, who has just "faked a fabulous funeral" to escape from the Dragon who has been pursuing her. The Dragon-the voice of Noelle Kalom-is not so easily duped and has followed Ruby to her apartment. For the rest of the one and one-half hour, one person play-written by Quinton— Stevens plays Sheherezade, keeping the Dragon at bay by telling/enacting a series of classic movies.

Changing into a prim black dress and blonde wig, Quinton frenetically acts out The Spiral Staircase in which mute Dorothy McGuire is stalked by a madman who murders handicapped women. Quinton plays all the major female roles using his considerable abilities as a mimic and caricaturist. The next movie, The Ten Commandments, is done as a laundry sequence. Towels, silk boxer shorts, clumps of socks, bleach bottles, etc. become costume accessories as Quinton plays the various roles in the Biblical epic. Invention flags somewhat with Quinton's version of Dracula, but the evening picks up again with a black lit version of The Invisible Man. It is told with an amusing series of puppets and brightly colored luminous props. The high point of the evening is the final sequence, a clothes closet version of Madame X, the Lana Turner

tear-jerker that Quinton dubs "the blondest movie ever made.” Quinton acts out the story using costumes on hangars that he holds in front of himself as he plays the character. Holding up two costumes, he is able to play out the various confrontations in this story of adultery, retribution and redemption.

Movieland-which I saw a few nights before the official opening-is a slight evening of classic camp. At its best it showcases Quinton's mastery of various aspects of the Ridiculous acting style which has always been connected to the high emotional exaggeration of grade-B movies. The production, directed by Eureka, is a good example of the visual inventiveness of the work at the Ridiculous. T. Greenfield's set is a garish extension of Ruby Stevens' persona. It is blue and gold and features a red paisley refrigerator and a variety of red and gold kitsch knickknacks as well as two "jewel infested" rats. Toni Nanette Thompson's costumes and Zsamira Ronquillo's wigs aptly support Quinton's parodic sense as well as his understanding of drag.

Although genuinely entertaining, Movieland lacks the comic genius of the best work of the Ridiculous Theatrical Company. It is clearly designed to be a lighthearted evening out for the gay community during the preparations and events of the Stonewall 25 commemoration. It is no coincidence that Quinton starts each sequence in the play by entering from the large, centrally positioned, closet in the set. At the end of the play, when he decides to face the Dragon, who represents his own inner demon as well as social forces of oppression, he puts on a rainbow flag cape. As he opens

G.I.F.T./PRIDE

SATURDAY JUNE 11, 1994

NICK ELGAR

Everett Quinton stars as Ruby Stevens in the one-woman show Movieland.

the bolted door of the apartment and starts out into the world with his jewel infested friends, his line is "Come my glorious rats out of your closet." It is a message, unfortunately, that still needs to be heard. Movieland is playing at the Charles

Ludlam Theatre at One Sheridan Square in Greenwich Village, Wednesday-Friday at 8 pm, Saturday at 7 pm and 10 pm and Sunday at 7 pm. Tickets are $25. For reservations telephone 212-691-2271.

Cruise

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