‘Vampire Lesbians’ a biting good time

Rival "Vampire Lesbians of Sodom" (Glenn Heath, Kellie Wright) battle through the centuries in Charles Busch's cult comedy, at the Onyx Theatre through June 27. (COURTESY PHOTO)

Rival "Vampire Lesbians of Sodom" (Glenn Heath, Kellie Wright) battle through the centuries in Charles Busch's cult comedy, at the Onyx Theatre through June 27. (COURTESY PHOTO)

The Onyx Theater christened its new Cabaret Speakeasy Lounge, a lovely little space sprinkled with small bistro tables and chairs, couches and love seats.

You’d expect to be viewing small musicals in this space, perhaps concert-style shows. Yet the ever-courageous Troy Heard, managing and artistic director, scheduled the opening with a hilarious production of “Vampire Lesbians of Sodom,” one of Charles Busch’s classic high camp drag comedies.

The play takes us from present day to ancient Sodom, circa 15 B.C., replete with palm tree and Nubian guards, to the Caesars Palace Circus Maximus showroom of 1985, with a stop in the Hollywood of the Roaring Twenties along the way. All the while we’ve got a talented Greek chorus to lead us along our journey.

Glenn Heath and Kellie Wright, playing the title characters, under the astute direction of Stephen R. Sisson, battle it out for the vampiric upper hand and top billing with perfection. Sisson works in the present-day gags, such as cellphone selfies, with pure over-the-top finesse, ensuring we know we’re not to take anything seriously.

The fun begins when Heath, carried in on a bier, is revealed (in drag, of course) to be the latest sacrificial 14-year-old (“ha!”) vestal virgin to the Succubus. His voice softened, and with genuine feminine gestures, Heath knows exactly how to play the style. The flair, the double takes, the asides, the timing, everything is flawless fun. Over the course of the show, he slowly adjusts the timbre of his voice to his more natural lower registers until he’s reminiscent of a middle-age Rosalind Russell strutting her stuff in “Gypsy.”

Kellie Wright also gives a seamless performance. She plays the Succubus with bravada, slips into a picture-perfect silent screen-era vamp, and then slides into a downtrodden cleaning woman, all with the textbook flamboyance of the style.

Wright moves with confidence, every raised brow or pursing of lips moves the story, enhances the character and lets the audience in on each joke.

If you’re a fan of her singing you won’t be disappointed in the least. Though this is not a musical, in keeping with the final scene, the curtain call offers up a boisterous and fun version of “Bosom Buddies” from the musical “Mame,” and Wright’s wonderful voice fills the room.

While the supporting cast of 13 does a fine job, a few performances are standouts. Matt Antonizick is terrific as Etienne, an Igor-type butler, whose lame leg switches sides; the deliberate change placed front and center for maximum effect. Edgar Nunez has delightful fun in a nuanced performance as King Carlisle, the budding movie idol. Olga Rios is positively delicious as Oatsie Carewe, a Hollywood gossip columnist. When Rios bursts into a different character midstream, her timing and exaggerated Spanish dialect are dead-on.

That’s not to say there weren’t problems; there always are when opening a new space. Everyone reacted in fitting style to things that didn’t cooperate, adding to the entertainment value and proving this to be the perfect choice to inaugurate the venue.

Billed as Theater After Hours, this is late-night summer camp, and summer camp has never been so much fun. Take a nap, or grab some coffee, and head on over. It’s a biting good time you don’t want to miss.