In the first scene of Drama Queens from Hell, the Peter Lefcourt comedy now in a world premiere at the Odyssey Theater, we meet talent agent Artie Paramecium (Rick Podell) doing business on the phone while seated on the toilet with his drawers down around his ankles. Having thus made it clear how much he likes vulgar humor, Lefcourt proceeds to satirize the film “Sunset Boulevard” in the most crude, lowbrow way imaginable. The set-up goes like this: a young director, Gerard Manville (Paul Galliano), having been hired to shoot a remake of “Sunset Boulevard,” is looking to cast the all-important part of faded film-star Norma Desmond (Gloria Swanson in the original). The sleazeball Paramecium convinces Manville to audition three of his clients for the role: Maxine Zabar (Christopher Callen), an over-the-hill B-movie actress; Felicia Brown (Dee Freeman), a militant African-American; and Brianne McCauley (Chad Borden), a transvestite hoping to become transgender one day soon. Why should these three stooges be considered for a starring role in an important Hollywood film? “In an age of diversity they have a chance,” the playwright would have us believe. He then shows us what they must go through to win the role: passing auditions, buying costumes, hiring acting coaches, doing scenes from the film (with new dialogue superimposed over Swanson’s image). It goes without saying that the competition between these older actresses is fierce and venal, with each of them playing the showbiz game as dirtily as possible. Lefcourt tries to make light of all these shenanigans by peppering his dialogue with wisecracks, pop references and celebrity digs. He is also not above using hit songs (“Pretty Baby,” “Memories”) at key moments to punch up the story. But there is something desperate about all the madcap happenings in Drama Queens: they cannot hide the play being a one-joke affair, one that, alas, is more forced than funny.
