Die Laughing at Die Nasty!

Die Nasty! is Act Out Mystery Theatre’s best show to date.The third production from the troupe specializing in audience participation mystery dinner theater shows that spoof Hollywood and pop culture, has hit on their hands. Die Nasty! spoofs soap operas and celebrity chefs with outrageous hilarity.

#

Die Nasty! (a take off of the 80s hit Dynasty) brings together classic characters like JR Ewing, Alexis Carrington Colby, Luke and Laura Spencer, Erica Kane and many more in a Wisteria Lane-type setting where a serial killer is on the loose. The laughs are plenty from the get-go, but hilarity reigns once Julia Child turns detective to solve the murders.

#

The names have been changed slightly to avoid copyright infringements, but the characters are instantly recognizable to soap opera lovers. You don’t have to be familiar with the characters to enjoy the show – this is over-the-top campiness at its best – however knowing them does help appreciate some of the jokes.

#

A troupe of four actors plays multiple parts through out the three-act play. But there are a dozen more small parts offering vital clues for solving the murder which need to be played. So, they recruit audience members. Those selected stand at their seats to read their lines from a sheet of paper given them. Great acting is not expected, just reading the lines. But often great acting occurs nonetheless, which just adds to the fun of the evening.

#

#

The script by Paul Vander Roest is brilliant. Vander Roest clearly knows his soaps characters and the conventions of the genre. And after penning the scripts for Act Out’s two previous shows (All Aboard for Murder and Terminate Her!), Vander Roest has gotten the formula for a winning show down to a science.

#

Turning Julia Child into a detective is a particularly inspired idea, offering fodder for both cooking and detective jokes. Natasha Lloyd as Julia manages to pull of some of the most outrageous lines while the audience is dying of laughter.

#

In addition to writing and directing the show, Vander Roest plays multiple parts. But it’s his JR Ewing that leaves the audiences raving. When he puts on his cowboy hat, he transforms into JR Ewing; he’s no longer acting, he’s channeling the character.

#

Carson Gilmore pulls off a similar feat when he dons a wig and evening gown to become Alexis Colby, playing the character with greater flare that Joan Collins ever did. Alexis always felt like a drag queen anyway, but Gilmore perfectly inhabits the character.

#

Finally, Lara Starr Rigores, a regular with the troupe, offers a tour de force as Norma Rae Walker, a character that skewers all of Sally Field’s best known characters from Nora Walker (of TV’s Brothers and Sisters) and Norma Rae to Sybil and Gidget too. And the very next act, she transforms into a nutty version of Laura Spencer (of General Hospital fame).

#

On top of this, audiences get an amazing 3-course meal at the Reef on the Water restaurant overlooking Long Beach Harbor. Dinner, a show and scenic views make Die Nasty! worth driving to Long Beach for.

#

Die Nasty! plays weekends through July 17. For tickets, visit the Act Out Mystery Theatre website