Arnie Burton & Robert Sella to Star in Red Bull's THE MYSTERY OF IRMA VEP; Performances Begin 4/10

Red Bull Theater will present the 30th Anniversary Revival of Charles Ludlam's The Mystery of Irma Vep, starring Arnie Burton and Robert Sella, directed by Everett Quinton. The Mystery of Irma Vep will have scenic design by John Arnone, costume design by Ramona Ponce, lighting design by Peter West, and sound design by Brandon Wolcott.

Performances, which run April 10th through May 11th, will be Tuesday & Wednesday evenings at 7:30pm, Thursday & Friday evenings at 8pm, Saturdays at 2pm & 8pm, and Sunday matinees at 3pm (except Sunday April 13th which will be at 2pm). Added performances will be Sunday evening April 13th at 7pm and Monday evening April 14th at 7:30pm. All performances will be at the Lucille Lortel Theater (121 Christopher Street, between Bleecker and Hudson Streets). Opening Night is set for Thursday April 17th.

A true American classic of theatrical language and transformation, careening outrageously through Shakespeare, Victorian melodrama, Poe and Hitchcock. With just two actors engaged in a high style quick-change act, this hilariously horrifying drama marks the return of the Ridiculous to the West Village - replete with werewolves, vampires and mummies. After his first wife, Irma, meets her unfortunate demise on the mysterious moors, Egyptologist Lord Edgar takes Lady Enid as his second wife, much to the dismay of his protective maid, Jane, and his leering swineherd, Nicodemus. But when Lady Enid suffers a similarly supernatural attack, life at Mandacrest Estate quickly becomes a gripping whodunit (or whatdunit) where nothing is remotely what it seems.

Single tickets are on sale now (from only $20) and may be purchased online at www.redbulltheater.com or by phone at (212) 352-3101.

Arnie Burton is currently appearing in Machinal at Roundabout. His other Broadway credits include The 39 Steps, Peter and the Starcatcher, A Free Man of Color and Amadeus. Off-Broadway includes The Explorers Club (MTC), The Temperamentals (Drama Desk Award, Ensemble), The Last Sunday in June, Mere Mortals, The Jew of Malta/The Merchant of Venice (TFANA), Peter and the Starcatcher (NYTW), The Venetian Twins (Pearl). UK: The Merchant of Venice (RSC). Regional: All The Way (A.R.T.), The 39 Steps (Huntington, Irne Award, Best Supporting Actor), The Santaland Diaries, Taming of the Shrew, The Seagull (Old Globe), All in the Timing (Geffen Theater, L.A.); also, the Alley Theater, Philadelphia Theater Co., Berkeley Rep. TV appearances include "Blue Bloods," "Frasier," "Law & Order," "L&O Criminal Intent," "Hope & Faith," "White Collar," "Caroline in the City," "Life on Mars," "6 Degrees." Film: The Invention of Lying, Private Lives of Pippa Lee, Game 6, Igby Goes Down.

Robert Sella's Broadway roles include Freddie in My Fair Lady, the Emcee in Cabaret, Boris in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and Clifford in Sideman. Robert played Prior in the first national tour of Angels in America, and starred with Dame Maggie Smith in Edward Albee's The Lady from Dubuque on the West End. Other favorite roles include: Dennis in Five by Tenn (MTC); Reed in Boys and Girls (Playwrights Horizons); De Villepin and others in Stuff Happens (Public Theater/NYSF); Leo in Design for Living, Don Carlos in Don Carlos, Orin in Mourning Becomes Electra (Shakespeare Theatre, Washington DC); Chick in Chick the Great Osram (Hartford Stage); Salieri in Amadeus, Elyot in Private Lives (Chicago Shakespeare Theatre). Mr. Sella is the proud recipient of a Helen Hayes Award, the Michel Saint-Denis Prize, and the Clarence Derwent Award. He is a graduate of UCLA and Juilliard.

Director Everett Quinton is an actor, costume designer, director and playwright. Everett began his career in 1976 with Charles Ludlam's Ridiculous Theatrical Company in Ludlam's play Caprice. Everett remained with The Ridiculous Theatrical Company until 1997 serving in various capacities. When Charles Ludlam passed away in 1987, Everett became the company's Artistic Director. For ten years Everett guided the production of several plays, including a revival of Charles Ludlam's Turds in Hell, directed by Larry Kornfeld. He adapted and performed a one-person A Tale of Two Cities (Obie Award) and Georg Osterman's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, both directed by Kate Stafford. Everett adapted and directed a musical version of The Hunchback of Notre Dame with music and lyrics by Mark Bennett. He teamed with Mark Bennett again and wrote the original Country Musical Linda, directed by David Gannon. Everett wrote several one person shows, including Movieland and The Bells, directed by Eureka. Everett directed Charles Ludlam's Big Hotel, Der Ring Gott Farblonjet, Camille (Lortel Award nomination, Best Revival), as well as Georg Osterman's Brother Trucker's, his own adaption of Carmen, and finally closed the Ridiculous with a production of Phaedra which he performed with Michael van Meter and which was directed by Bill Nobes. For Red Bull, Everett has directed and appeared in numerous Revelation Readings, played Anne Ratcliffe and her husband in The Witch of Edmonton, and Fabritio in Women Beware Women, for which he received the Joseph Callaway award.

Red Bull Theater's Tenth Anniversary Season includes Off-Broadway revivals of modern classics by the iconoclastic Joe Orton and Charles Ludlam alongside Revelation Readings of Jacobean gems such as Arden of Faversham and The Roaring Girl, and rarities like Brecht & Weill's Happy End and Thornton Wilder's Alcestiad, offering something for every lover of classic theater to relish. With the Jacobean plays of Shakespeare and his contemporaries as its cornerstone, Red Bull Theater's Tenth Anniversary season builds upon the company's unique mission to present vital and imaginative renderings of heightened language plays from all eras and cultures, expanding programming as Red Bull Theater enters a second decade of sharing great classic stories.

Red Bull's OBIE Award-winning Revelation Reading series (Monday evenings at 7:30pm) continues with a talk by John Wolfson on Sources of Shakespeare's Hamlet featuring Laila Robins and Nick Westrate (on February 24th); a concert reading of Brecht & Weill's Happy End with Nancy Anderson, Karen Mason, Jeff McCarthy, Jayne Houdyshell, BD Wong and Chip Zien (March 17th); a reading of The Roaring Girl with Sam Tsoutsouvas and Rocco Sisto (March 24th). Concurrent with the run of The Mystery of Irma Vep, the Reading series will feature a reading of Charles Ludlam's Stage Blood featuring Carson Elrod, Kathryn Meisle, and Derek Smith (April 28), and a reading of The Country Wife featuring Jeremy Shamos (on May 5th). For a complete list of Readings, updated cast information, and to purchase tickets, visit www.redbulltheater.com/Readings.

Photo by Walter McBride