Acting Up

Cilicia Yakhlef

FAME AND SHAME
@
LOLA STARR BUILDS
HER DREAM HOME

Denver Civic Theater
721 Santa Fe Drive
303-595-3800
Th-Sa 7:30 pm $18
www.horsechart.com

Brett Aune shines as la belle dame Lola Star in this cheeky camp drama about a '50s sex symbol. The action opens with the sparkling starlet swaying onto the stage as she embarks on a new life as one of "the little people."

The play first ran in 1988 in Toronto and, along with its author Sky Gilbert, has become a pop favorite there. The U. S. debut opened March 23 at the Denver Civic Theater, and runs through April 14. Judging by the size of the audience, this is the kind of show that picks up momentum quickly. And no wonder. It's a brightly written dark comedy that's got as many pinches and bites as it does giggles and snorts.

The script is inventive, sarcastic and sadistically satirical, all of which makes for loads of laughs and lots of surprises. The characters are breathlessly shallow while the characterizations reveal a collective depth. The play parallels real-life events that have become so commonplace, it might be difficult to assign a particular case. However, Lola Starr's story certainly corresponds to the illicit details of Lana Turner's mid-century drama.

Like Turner, Lola Starr is in love with an abusive chump from whom she just can't seem to drag herself away. Like Turner, Starr has a teenage daughter who is fed up with seeing her movie star mom battered and bruised by said chump. And, like Turner, Starr finds her self in the middle of an explosive situation with a fast fuse.

Now, as dark and serious as this all sounds, it isn't. As the play so flagrantly points out, everything has a flip side, and certainly that holds true in the imaginative world of Sky Gilbert. For example, Lola has a dog named Eat Me who humps just about anything. Anything, that is, except Miss Minoola Grump, the local Puritan zealot who comes on like a freight train and sets a sleeper hold on an overly amorous Eat Me. Johnny Bad looms as Lola's nemesis, revving around the stage like an out of control Harley just looking for something to hit. The only character who seems to really have a grip is Starr's teenage daughter, Tina. Tina knows she's a tomboy, and has a lofty career goal. She wants to grow up to become a prison matron, so she can spend lots of time around other tomboys.

Andrea Tichy plays Tina, and she's the only woman on stage. The playwright, Sky Gilbert is out, and his work is out there in front of audiences who are sucking it up like a foamy head of beer. Brett Aune glows and glides the floor in a pair of patent leather six-inch heels. A perfectly plaited platinum wig and fake lashes that smile and wave at the audience all on their own ad a definite glam factor that is enhanced by Aune's willowy femininity. J. K. Palmer steals the show, though, every time he saunters his curvaceous frame around the stage. Palmer plays Minoola Grump, and the only drawback to that fact is no one could get enough of his dynamic presence. Donald Ryan plays Eat Me and has the audience in fits every time he falls in love with a leg ... or worse. Christian Mast wears a few different hats in this production and does a good job with all of them, particularly the Malcom Inklepoop character who becomes Lola's healthy love interest-- well, kind of. Stephen Cosgrove is reminiscent of a WWF wannabe in his role as Johnny Bad. And then there is that last element.

Lola, it seems, comes with her own band. The entire play is orchestrated, underlined and punctuated by the presence of a live band. The band not only adds depth and dimension to the show, but it also plays an active role, interacting with both the audience's reaction and the present action on stage. Very inventive and very, very cool. Good music, too.

Director McLaren Brennan lives up to her already strong reputation with this production of Lola Starr Builds Her Dream Home. The play is already a haute-couture hit in Denver with a run of less than a month. However, the show closes Easter weekend. I'd recommend you go see it. This one is likely to become the next wild campfire in the lower 48. Bring your marshmallows, it's pretty hot. A