No mistletoe.
No bells.
No dancing reindeer.
If you're cynical about the holidays, or even if you're just already sick of the earlier-than-ever advance of commercial holiday "cheer", has Stray Dog Theatre got a show for you.
"Devil Boys From Beyond" (a title certain to inspire satisfaction among such folks and a grin from most of the rest of us) is by Buddy Thomas and Kenneth Elliott. Elliott co-founded Theatre-in-Limbo with Charles Busch, the group that gave us "Psycho Beach Party" and that classic, "Vampire Lesbians of Sodom". Not surprisingly, this adds up to adult humor. Very adult, although not vulgar just for vulgarity's sake.
It's 1957, and- perhaps – a UFO has landed in Lizard Lips, Florida. Florence Wexler, played by Michael Juncal, who wonderfully evokes Divine in "Hairspray", has had her husband disappear after this thing has hit her garage. That's national news, of course, especially in the dog days of summer. In New York, one paper, having covered it, hears that there are more developments and wants to send their aces down again to investigate.
The aces are reporter Matty Van Buren (Sarajane Alveson) and photographer Gregory Graham (Stephen Peirick), divorced from each other because of his alcoholism and extramarital hijinks. We're not talking Hepburn and Tracy here, with witty banter; it's more like the Bickersons. She caught him in flagrante delicto (nice to hear the phrase used in the actual dialogue) with the paper's gossip columnist, Lucinda Marsh (Michael Baird), who's keen to go on the story herself. Marsh, as snakes often do, has many of the best lines and Baird makes the most of it, needing only a little more care in timing because the audience is laughing so loud. He also has great legs – or gams, if we're going to continue in Fifties newspaper-speak. Alverson makes the most of the caricature of a hard-driving woman reporter of the era; there's lots of deliberate scenery-gnawing throughout the show, and she glories in it. Peirick's guy is a little more worn down and plays his growing thirst with a little subtlety that slides right into the story without taking over.
Their editor, the long-suffering Gilbert Wiatt, is Jonathan Hey. He bemoans the fate of newspapers, fearing that if they don't get this scoop, they'll close and there will be only eight newspapers left in New York. Hey's job is to react to all this craziness, and he does his mugging well. Teryl Thurman is the landlady at the newshound's Florida motel and is, in many ways, the most realistic of this bunch. Beefcake is provided by Ryan Wiechmann as Florence's husband – we think – and Brandon Brendel as the sheriff.
The sound designer and original song for all productions of the show are by Drew Formarola; SDT's sound designer, who made it all sound great, was John Fontein with additions from Justin Been, who also did the scenic design and was the stage manager. Great fun with the costumes and particularly the hats from Eileen Engel, and great wigs courtesy of Priscilla Case.
Quite funny, and, yes, bawdy. Extra giggles for those who get the old-days references in this generally carefree evening. One act, no intermission, runs about 90 minutes. You don't even have to find your ugly Christmas sweater to get in the spirit.
Devil Boys From Beyond
through December 19
Stray Dog Theatre
Tower Grove Abbey
2336 Tennessee
314-865-1005