Multiple lures attracted us to Feejee Mermaid, the inaugural production of Drops in the Vase, now in previews at the Flea: the title, obviously, but also the past work of the principal artists, all of whom I have been following and admiring for decades.
The best known of the lot is surely playwright Clay McLeod Chapman, prolific horror author and sometime downtown monologist whom I wrote about here and here and interviewed in this 2013 video segment. One thing I’ve never thought to ask him but find myself wondering: is he related to the chap who did that Homer translation a few centuries back? I’m deciding unilaterally that he is.
The Drops in the Vase folks are all friends and colleagues I’ve worked with numerous times over the years, some of them for over 15 years, I think, and whose work I have followed for even longer than that. Some were core members of Nosedive Productions, whose regular “Blood Brothers” Grand Guignol series I was a particular fan of. I know just about all of these folks to be horror fans, and horror purveyors, but none of them are just that. And with the creation of Drops in the Vase, all concerned have elevated their game.
In an interview with Meagan J. Meehan, Director of Artistic Producing Pete Boisvert explained the backstory and significance of the company’s mysterious name: “We were initially inspired by a speech Branden Jacobs-Jenkins gave for the Soho Rep Gala, where he talked about the legacy of the theatrical tradition. To paraphrase: ‘What is theater, if not a bunch of idiots in a line passing an antique vase back and forth.’ We were so tickled by this description of theater, and how it brings both levity and reverence to this art form. The vase is a vessel that we all contribute to, and which we all (both inside the company and in collaboration with the larger community) have a responsibility to carry forward. We also drew on something [famous make-up artist and director] Tom Savini said in the horror film documentary In Search of Darkness. He was talking about his secret sauce to making believable blood on screen, and revealed his trick is, counterintuitively, to add 32 drops of green dye per gallon. This peek behind the creative curtain speaks to the artifice of theater and the effect that even a subtle addition can bring to the creative mix.”
I love the explanation, for it expresses the fact that they have one foot in their own history as artists, and one foot in their expanded mission going forward. But I should emphasize that this ensemble isn’t just a group that has changed direction. They have made a BIG leap, and landed squarely, solidly on two feet a good distance from where they were. Where they were before wasn’t terrible, mind, it was just (like almost all Indie Theatre work), micro-budgeted and hastily produced. By contrast, Drops in the Vase has taken a full year to realize the present venture, raising money, and properly developing the artistic end. The level of professionalism has risen, but that’s just a piece of it. (A superficial piece, but this is a superficial world, so it matters.)
The real impressive part for me, was how the various parties have matured as artists. It probably won’t be a shock to anyone that if I’m attending something called Feejee Mermaid; my first expectation is a spectacle involving P.T. Barnum’s famous gaffed fish-monkey. This show doesn’t provide that, although it is referred to a couple of times in the dialogue. But as a lover of superlative theatre, I was more than okay with that. My trick now is finding a way to describe the play that both conveys how good it is, and doesn’t include spoilers. Erm…here goes. What if you cooked up a play that combined elements of, oh, Tom Stoppard, the Christopher Guest stock company, Mary Shelley, and the Morbid Anatomy Museum? With a couple of Barnumesque gotchas thrown in? It’s something like that.
The plot concerns a quartet of taxidermists, all competing for a major professional award, with the three male ones (Niccolo Walsh, Duane Ferguson, Adam Files) competing for the devotion of the female (Morgan Zipf-Meister), who happens to be the most gifted of the group. The setting within this odd subculture is not without humor, and both the script and its interpretation fully exploit that. Yet, there is an unexpected metaphorical richness to the calling, and Chapman mines its potential for all its worth. Taxidermy is both science and art, as macabre as it is kitchy. Contemplation of death is inevitable, as is the struggle to bring about the illusion of life to its subjects. Horror classics unavoidably spring to mind, not just Frankenstein, but also such things as House of Wax and Mad Love. Yet we’re also reminded of both versions of the Pygmalion story, both the Greek original and Shaw’s take. The objectification of women is a theme, as is their God-like role in bringing about literal life. In a word — this ain’t no sideshow.
I could see a take on Chapman’s play that was much darker in a spookhouse kind of way, though director Pete Boisvert seems to have wisely concluded that that would be gilding the lily, though he doesn’t gloss over the play’s handful of truly dark moments, either. We’re not in a roomful of dead animals (at least not in a literal way — ha!) but in a very well realized (realistic) hotel room designed by Sandy Yaklin (I saw that authentic hotel room coffee-maker stage left, Sandy!). It’s in the naturalistic tradition of Antoine, which of course connects us back to the highly relevant Darwin (and in a roundabout way the Grand Guignol). It is as though the setting itself were a taxidermist’s mount. And I’m going to give them the benefit of the doubt and say all of this is intentional, in respect to which, color me very impressed.
Lastly, the cast are all extremely strong, not a sawdust stuffed turkey among them! Duane Ferguson as a Mephistopholean rival with the loaded name of “P.T.” is easily the most entertaining, though Zipf-Meister as taxtidermist of genius Lisette, more than sews up her part (see what I did there?) There are several unexpectedly moving moments in the play, and a couple of moments of jaw dropping shock. The quartet all hit their emotional marks and Criswell predicts they will get even better as the run progresses. It is playing through November 2. I highly urge you to see it. Tickets and info here.