Review: STAGE BLOOD at Different Stages

Stage Blood is ridiculous by design, and Different Stages seems to know exactly how ridiculous to let it be.

Originally premiering Off-Broadway in 1974 with Charles Ludlam’s Ridiculous Theatrical Company, Stage Blood is both a love letter to actors and an affectionate send-up of Shakespeare, melodrama, and theatrical convention. The story follows the Stone family, a troupe of touring actors performing Hamlet across America. As backstage rivalries, oversized egos, and family tensions begin to mirror the tragedy unfolding onstage, the line between performance and reality becomes increasingly blurred. Ludlam’s comedy gleefully pokes fun at actors, audiences, critics, and even Shakespeare himself, but always with genuine affection for the theatre.

Directed by Norman Blumensaadt, Different Stages leans into every bit of that absurdity. The humor is broad, cheeky, and unapologetically over the top, bouncing between literary parody, slapstick, and delightfully outrageous dialogue. The production even sneaks in a few local references, including a stop in Pflugerville, giving Austin audiences an extra laugh without disrupting the spirit of the original play. Even Austin Chronicle and BroadwayWorld Austin get a mention, thankfully not yours truly by name. But, it lands exactly as intended: all in good fun.

The cast understands the assignment. Ev Lunning is a welcome comic surprise as the elderly player Carlton Stone Sr., the Ghost, and Gilbert Fey, or is he? Wink wink. Will Douglas brings the right level of theatrical excess to Carlton Stone Jr., leaning into the character’s melodrama without losing control of it. Griffin Gardner is deliciously cunning as Helga Vain, the mother, while Tim Blackwood leans into the script’s sarcasm as the sleazy Edmund Dundreary, the thespian. Zachary Gamble gives Jenkins, the Stage Manager, a dry, exasperated edge, especially when sulking over his 2,000-page “perfect” script about fossil fuel. Yep, yep. Kelsey Mazak is a delight as the theatre fan turned actress turned... no, I will not spoil it. She goes by Elfie Fey. Allie Carnero rounds out the ghostly confusion as the Second Ghost.

What impressed me most was their commitment. I honestly do not know how they managed to keep straight faces through some of Ludlam’s most outrageous lines. More than once I could have sworn someone was on the verge of breaking character, which only made the moment land harder. If they were close to cracking, they never quite gave in.

The audience was equally invested. Laughter rolled through The VORTEX for most of the evening, occasionally so enthusiastically that a line or two disappeared beneath it. That is hardly a complaint. Good comedies invite audiences to laugh. This one simply gave them plenty of reasons to.

Although Stage Blood is structured in three acts, the evening moves along comfortably. At roughly two hours and twenty minutes, including two intermissions, it never overstays its welcome. If anything, the breaks offer a perfect excuse to wander over to the Butterfly Bar before diving back into Ludlam’s wonderfully chaotic world.

Beneath all the theatrical madness is something surprisingly sincere. Stage Blood works because Ludlam is not mocking theatre from the outside. He is celebrating its eccentricities from within. Actors, critics, audiences, directors, Shakespeare, nobody escapes the joke, but no one is treated with malice either. The play recognizes that theatre is gloriously messy, occasionally self-important, and endlessly entertaining.

Different Stages captures that spirit with a production that is energetic, playful, and thoroughly enjoyable. It is not subtle, nor does it aspire to realism. Instead, it embraces the delightful absurdity of live theatre and reminds us that sometimes the best way to celebrate the stage is simply to laugh at it.

Duration: 2 hours and 20 min (including two intermissions)

Stage Blood

Written by Charles Ludlan

Directed by Norman Blumensaadt

Now playing through July 18, 2026  

Wednesdays to Saturdays at 8:00 PM

Sundays at 6:00 PM.

There is no performance on Saturday July 4, 2026.

Different Stages @ The VORTEX

2307 Manor Road

Austin, Tx 78722

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