Steadstyle Chicago
	February 2010 Theatre Review by Joe Stead
	Busch Fest Charles Busch was the reigning queen of camp during the Reagan years.  The playwright and actor (or should that be actress?), noted for such fare as "The Tale of the Allergist's Wife," "Die Mommy Die" and "Psycho Beach Party," combined his lifelong love of films with irreverence, gender-bending and playful homoeroticism.  He also created a bevy of larger than life diva characters for himself to play, doubtlessly influenced by all the great ladies of the screen he grew up watching as a child.  Busch was the resident playwright and star of Theatre in Limbo, which debuted his works from 1984-1986 in a slightly sleazy lounge Off Off Off Broadway. The Idea Place is taking a rare and entertaining look back at four of those earliest one-act comedies, and they're performing in a space that neatly parallels Busch's original home at Chicago's Mary's Attic, the upstairs cabaret space at Hamburger Mary's in Andersonville.  You won't have to see all four plays to get a taste for Busch's satirical tone, although you may not get another opportunity so if you want the whole two night experience, dive in.  As a sampling of Program B revealed, a little bit of Busch can go a long way.  There isn't a serious or dignified bone in these play's twisted and deliciously decadent little bodies.  The titles alone should give you the essence of the "Busch Fest": "Vampire Lesbians of Sodom," "Sleeping Beauty or Coma," "Theodora She-Bitch of Byzantium" and "Pardon My Inquisition or Kiss the Blood Off My Castanets". Each of the plays revels in its own exotic mystique.  The title character in "Theodora" is an Empress trapped in a loveless marriage who craves love and power.  That is the essence of the characters Busch created for himself: strong, aggressive, glamorous, sexual women who were usually played by a man.  "Theodora" gives Busch a chance to rival Shakespeare as the Empress, a former circus aerialist we are told, dons some pretty frilly "male" attire and uncovers a plot by a potential studly lover to assassinate her husband the Emperor.  We also have a pair of incestuous twins, Rita and Toso.  Rita has preserved some of the major organs of their late warrior king father, while Toso has become the Emperor's male concubine.  What happens here with peacock feathers I will leave to the reader's imagination.  The strapping Andreas, his pal Marcus, doddery old Aunt Vulva, and an elderly gypsy named Fata Morgana complete the dramatis personae. In "Pardon My Inquisition..." Busch skewers everything Latina, among other things the Spanish Inquisition.  We see a popular and fiery whore Maria Garbonza reuniting with her innocent young brother who knows nothing of her trade.  Maria Garbonza also bears a striking resemblance to the wife of the elderly and lecherous Marquis.  The macho Don Arturo gets to strut his stuff with a silver engorged phallic strap-on to get the hormonal juices flowing.  Lewd, crude and blisteringly funny, these early lightweight confections were far from Busch's best work.  But it is fun to see them dusted off once again and made comic hay by an over the top troupe of comedians.  Kristina Johnson, Dan Cox, Ed Jones, Mary Hollis Inboden, Danny Taylor, Ted Evans, Andrew Marikis, Ashleigh Ross and Anthony DeNicola take turns trying to out ham one another.  While not for the sophisticated taste, "Busch Fest" is perfect for a young party loving crowd with an offbeat sense of humor.  There's even an open bar right in the space and a program of "Drinking Games" to get you in the mood. "Busch Fest" plays through February 20, 2010 at Mary's Attic, 5400 N. Clark St. in Chicago's Andersonville neighborhood.  Performances are Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m.  There is a different program each night containing two alternating plays each.  Each program runs approximately 2 hours with intermission.  Tickets are currently available for all performances by calling (800) 838-3006 or at www.buschfest.com.   About Joe Stead Joe Stead has enjoyed a lifelong passion for the theatre, which has involved acting, directing, producing, designing and reviewing for the past twenty-five years.  He served as founder, producer and Artistic Director of Curtain Up Productions in Baltimore, Maryland and Four Star Players in Tampa, Florida.  Favorite productions have included "Life With Father," "Deathtrap," "The Odd Couple," "The Miracle Worker," "Brighton Beach Memoirs," "You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown" and "Godspell".  He has also performed leading roles in "Fiddler on the Roof," "Pippin," "The Phantom of the Opera," "The Front Page," and most recently as Hucklebee in "The Fantasticks" for Waukegan Community Players.  Joe holds a degree in Commercial Art from Tampa Technical Institute.  As a critic, he has reviewed everything from Broadway to community theatre and major regional theatres throughout the United States including the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., Paper Mill Playhouse in New Jersey, Goodspeed Opera House in Connecticut, and the Asolo Theatre in Sarasota, Florida.  Since 1998, he has been a proud resident of Chicago, the greatest theatre city in America.  He served for two years as Theatre Editor for College News and Central Newspapers.  He created the website Steadstyle Chicago in 2000 to showcase the city's outstanding and diverse theatre scene.  Joe was proud to serve alongside a distinguished panel of theatre professionals as a judge for two seasons of Speaking Ring Theatre's "Vitality" Festival of original short plays.  His most fulfilling role, in addition to reviewer and all-around theatre fanatic, was as director of the 2007 production of Peter Shaffer's "Equus" at Actors Workshop (now Redtwist) Theatre, which was nominated for five Joseph Jefferson Award Citations and won for Best Actor (Peter Oyloe).