A cross-dressing hotel clerk, a boxing nun, a cowboy lesbian, a sleepwalking nymphomaniac, a fly-eating psychopath, a verbally dyslexic German doctor with Turette's syndrome and a real-estate broker named John are some of the characters making up Callen Harty's 'Count Fagula,' now playing at the Broom Street Theater, 1119 Williamson St. This parody of Bram Stoker's 'Dracula' combines slapstick humor, everything from pop to country music and biting sexual commentary to produce a fun and sometimes hard-to-believe experience.
In the tradition of Broom Street Theater's experimental productions, 'Count Fagula' is unlike anything you've probably ever seen. The plot is disjointed and its dialogue is full of drug- and sex-related humor; moreover, its lighting and background music are bizarre. Yet, part of the fun of this play comes from its level of queerness, pardon the pun. It's a spoof and, at no point, tries to take itself too seriously. The actors do a hilarious job with a range of parts, demanding not only outlandish, physical humor, but also deadpan lunacy. While running a little long, the play doesn't lack action as it immediately takes off into the abyss of oddness and creepiness immediately.
The play starts off on a plane headed to Pennsylvania via Minneapolis. Here we meet John, played by Mark Gapen, a real-estate broker going to meet a client named Count Fagula. In this bizarre first scene, John's sexual confusion becomes apparent and the odd tone of the play is established. The action continues in this vein as the story unfolds in an increasingly strange fashion. After dealing with some cross-dressing, pot-smoking and cocaine-snorting hotel clerks, John finds his way to Count Fagula's place. The count, played with appropriate and compelling creepiness by Brian Wild, seems to not only be interested in buying a house in Wisconsin from John, but also going to bed with the pathetically frightened guy. On top of dealing with the count's harassment, John also tangles with three sexy vamps. From this point, the play begins to lose its continuity and grow in its shock value.
As the plot unfolds, the audience is transported back to the small town in Wisconsin where the count plans to move. His house is situated next to a cemetery and an insane asylum. In the town, we meet Mina Murray (Lauri Harty), John's fianc??e and the best friend of Lucy West (Kathy Martin), a sleepwalking nympho. Lucy is involved in a love quadrangle with Dr. Seward (Eric Davidson), the head of the insane asylum, Quincy Morris (Andrea Letterman), a lesbian dressed as a cowboy and Art Homeland (Aaron Anderson), her one true love.
The town is already quite bizarre, but when the count moves in, the neighborhood starts to become even weirder. Lucy West, who just can't get enough sex, is eventually seduced and killed by the count's mysterious powers. Meanwhile, at the insane asylum, things are starting to develop. Dr. Seward has invited the acclaimed Dr. Helsin, a German doctor with Turette's Syndrome, played hilariously by Patrick Robbins, to help him with some of his patients. Yet, as soon as the doctor arrives, Lucy begins to deteriorate due to the count's seduction and another patient named Renfield begins to act particularly weird. At this point, the plot becomes secondary to Renfield's antics and Helsing's efforts to understand the count's connection to the bizarre occurrences.
This play is an experiment in comedy and satire. Harty does a clever job intertwining pop culture references, blatant sexuality and sheer physical and sometimes goofy humor to enhance his retelling of the 'Dracula' saga. In the young, hip atmosphere of the Broom Street Theater, which seats fewer than 100 people, this play is an 'in-your-face' experience. While it is shocking, and even vulgar, 'Count Fagula' aims to make you laugh and ultimately succeeds.
