Review: Counter-Productions Theatre Group's World Premiere of KILL THE VIRGIN is Sexy and Smart

KILL THE VIRGIN, the latest offering by playwright Kevin Broccoli and produced by Counter-Productions Theatre Company is a cheeky and self-aware look at the cliches in horror movies. Thankfully, unlike the Scary Movie franchise, it manages to stay away from the gross-out humor and instead relies on quick wit and observation of the tropes that we've all seen in teen movies, and may be so accustomed to that they barely register anymore. Excellent acting and the fine direction of Ted Clement bring this fun and twisted romp to life, and while it's still a bit clunky in parts, it's exciting, genuinely funny and awfully sexy.

The play begins with Jerry Middlemiss awaking to the sound of his alarm clock. He gets out of bed, and begins a monologue describing his character, the movie that his character resides in, and what his ultimate role will wind up being. He'll go to school all day, get invited to a party, receive a sexy note from a girl and have sex with her later that night. This is all very matter-of-fact and sets the tone for the rest of the play where the characters are fully aware that they're in a teen horror film. This setup also creates the opportunity for some of the funniest jokes in this production, which include remarking to the one black actor that it's admirable he's managed to outlive so many of the white people, or noting that despite the fact that they're all supposed to be teenagers, they seem to have pretty impressive vocabularies and are probably played by 28-year-olds.

The virgin in this case is Ali, played by Victoria Ezikovich. Playing on the notion that in horror movies, the virgin is always the killer's ultimate prize, Ali finds herself in the predicament that a crazy man broke into her house, and he neither killed nor raped her. Initially, she boasts about outwitting him, but we eventually realize that she's actually a little hurt that he didn't find her worthy of killing. It's a strange and twisted world these teens live in, but it still manages to make sense thanks to the confident self-awareness of the script. Ezikovich in particular deserves full accolades for her performance. She's on stage for nearly every scene, and yet doesn't let her energy drop for a second. She's also got that unique charisma that makes one never get tired of looking at her, and her character's spunky pluck makes her the perfect hero and girl to root for.

The rest of the cast play their parts perfectly. The two police detectives--Diaz and Marconi played by Marina Tejada and Adam Florio are hilarious in their ineptitude. The two actors manage the balance of good cop and bad cop perfectly and their lightning fast banter keeps the pacing perfect, while maintaining the humor and not burying any jokes. David Monteiro as Darius manages to be sweet and considerate in a world where his peers are getting murdered or threatened with murder every day, and he and Ali have a believable and enviable teen romance.

Since this is a new play, there are a couple issues with dialogue and the ending which culminates in a deus ex machina that seems a bit easy. Those things are forgivable though considering how much thought and deliberation seems to have gone into the sets and performances. None of the actors holds back for a second, which makes the surreality of the plot that much more delightful. The stage has a semi-transparent white curtain across the back, behind which extra cast and crew pace back and forth in black hooded robes with red masks--occasionally reaching out to touch the veil between the worlds and heighten the tension in situations that are already pretty fraught. The little details like that really make this production something to experience, rather than just something to watch.

Kill The Virgin will conclude Counter-Productions Theatre Company's 2015-2016 season in residence at AS220's Blackbox Theatre, located at 95 Empire Street, Providence, RI. It opens in May, on Friday the 13th, and runs for two weekends. Show dates and times are May 13th, 14th, 20th & 21st at 7:00pm and May 15th & 22nd at 2:00pm. Admission is $20.

*Contains violence, nudity, sexual situations

*Not appropriate for children