Satirical Comedy Serves up Laughs

BATAVIA, NY (10/01/2014)(readMedia)-- In the mid-1980s drag legend Charles Busch wrote a play called "Vampire Lesbians of Sodom." Staged at the Limbo Lounge in New York City's East Village, the unconventional, scandalously sex-charged, cross-dressing show quickly became a theatre phenomenon. It moved to the Provincetown Playhouse where it ran for five years, becoming one of the longest-running shows in Off-Broadway history. This fall the Forum Players Theatre Ensemble at Genesee Community College stages its own version of the camp classic. "Vampire Lesbians of Sodom" opens in the Stuart Steiner Theatre on Thursday, October 16 at 7:30 p.m. Due to mature themes, no one under 16 will be admitted.

The two feuding vampiresses whose paths first collide in ancient Sodom are: The Succubus/la Condesa played by T. Heard (Fillmore, NY), and The Virgin/ Madeline, a role shared by Sania Hyatt (Yonkers, NY) and Samantha Marchisin (Alexander, NY). It follows their encounters across several eras, from 1920s Hollywood to contemporary Las Vegas. Of the show, The New York Times wrote "It accomplishes exactly what [Mr. Busch] wants it to – the audience laughs at the first line and goes right on laughing at every line to the end, and even at some of the silences."

Busch himself described the show as a series of Vaudeville-like sketches. "But if you take away all the exotic trappings, it's about friendship," he said. "It's a metaphor for any long term friendship that has its ups and downs and rivalries, disappointments and triumphs." The script takes on a host of cultural icons from Dracula to the Beatles, high fashion to fairy tales. One reviewer called the result "exhilarating."

Four performances are scheduled of "Vampire Lesbians of Sodom:" Thursday-Saturday, Oct. 16-18, 2014 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, October 19, 2014 at 2 p.m.

In addition to the two Madelines, "Vampire Lesbians of Sodom" features the following cast members – all from New York State: Maria Albanese, Kendall (Virgin Dancer); Blake Carter, Batavia (Dancer); Joseph Ciranni, Dansville (PJ); T. Heard, Fillmore (The Succubus/La Condesa); Christian Hoffman, Hilton (Etienne/Danny); William Rupp, Batavia (Hujar/Oatsie/Salazar); Shelby Waterman, Bergen (Virgin Dancer); Kayli Wilson, Canastota (Renee/Tracy/Virgin Dancer); David Wysocki, Hamburg (Ali/King Carlisle/Zack).

For more information, contact Marketing Communications Associate Director Donna Rae Sutherland at (585) 343-0055 ext. 6616, or via email: dsutherland@genesee.edu.

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Editor's Note:

A photo opportunity during the dress rehearsal of "Vampire Lesbians of Sodom" is available on Tuesday, October 14, 2014 at 4 p.m. in the Stuart Steiner Theatre on the GCC Batavia campus.