It's that time of the year again. Blood runs like twobuck-chuck Merlot. Screams start their crescendo, climaxing on the 31st, Halloween. Sledgehammer Theater will get you into the mood with Seven Crimes: A Celebration of Murder, Mayhem and Mutilation at the Tenth Avenue Theater. Presumptuously billed as the First Annual, I expect many annuals if they maintain the bloody humor of their first production.
It all starts with Pea Hicks' music and the sound effects genius of Scott Paulson. Behind bloodied curtains, the hand of Mistress of Ceremonies Mei Ling Downey appears. She slowly reveals herself dressed in a net and mere suggestions of clothing, a dominatrix to the audience. Poor Scott Paulson stationed just offstage, responsible for a myriad of eerie sound effects, is pressed into duty as Downey's footstool and whipping boy.
The cast, Janel DeGuzman, Mei-Ling Downey, Dana Hooley, Stanley Madruga, Mick Oravec, John Polak, Scott Paulson, and Walter Ritter appear in each of the three one acts, all tied together with lots of blood. They seem to have as much fun as the audience members.
"The Awful Pleasure" is a delightful piece. A woman is in the process of eliminating her husband while enjoying the fruits of an affair. Her idea of a relationship gets just a wee bit perverse, much to the detriment of her lover. The conclusion pretty well concludes many lives.
The lovely Downey returns to conduct a bit of audience participation as the next set is being put in place. When you attend, be advised not to comment to her in any way. Do not laugh too loud, do not respond to her, and don't have eye contact with her. I did. She beat me and another member of the audience.
"Seven Crimes" takes place in a Barstow, California barbershop on July 4th, 1969. All I will say is one should never question a man with a straight razor in his hand never! If you've seen Sweeney Todd, you'll get an idea of the potential mayhem of this number.
"The Terrible Experiment" has a loving father designing a machine that may have the ability to bring a person back to life. His adoration for his daughter is right on the edge of illegal. Alas, she dies. He uses his machine, and you've probably seen the results if you've seen horror pictures in the last century.
Seven Crimes... is in the style of Grand Guignol, which began at the turn of the century in Paris. Sex and blood mix well. This style of theater was first seen by American audiences in black-and-white silent films. Every horror flick had to have at least one beautiful girl and a monster of sorts.
Seven Crimes: A Celebration of Murder, Mayhem and Mutilation spills stage blood everywhere, Mistress keeps her audiences in line, and you will have an enjoyable time facing these terrors. This is, however, definitely adult entertainment. We see rather graphic passion, no matter how silly, and multiple slit throats, even if stage blood. The set is easily worth the price of admission for this Halloween treat.
