BWW Interviews: Columbus Immersive Theater Heats Up with PSYCHO BEACH PARTY

With lazily leaning palm trees, fluffy beach towels and sunbathing teenagers in 1960s-era bikinis, the frigid stage of Columbus' Garden Theater is transformed into the sun-kissed surf and sand of a Malibu beach town in Charles Busch's "Psycho Beach Party."

"If you look around this space, it is everywhere... You feel like you are at the beach while you are watching the performance," said "Psycho Beach Party" director Edward Carignan.

Featuring a wild and wacky cast of characters, "Psycho Beach Party" channels the beachy vibe of classic surfer movies and infuses it with Busch's signature drag-meets-camp comedic style.

"This is my second Charles Busch show," said Doug Joseph, who plays Mrs. Forrest, one of the two female characters traditionally portrayed by men in the show. "He has this special warped-ness about him."

Nick Hardin, who plays Florence "Chicklet" Forrest, a 16-year-old girl whose sole desire is to learn how to surf, said this role, which is also usually performed by a male actor, speaks to some of the barrier-breaking themes present in the play.

"It makes for a really interesting hodgepodge of the cheesiest and the darkest films of the era sort of mixed into one," he said. "It questions a lot of societal norms that were present in that time... It is kind of this really silly, goofy way of approaching something that is really far more serious, but it sheds a really beautiful light on it because it is like we are opening ourselves up to this and saying it is okay to laugh at this and address it in a unique way."

Drawing inspiration from a myriad of film genres that span multiple decades--from psychodramas to beach movies to slasher films--"Psycho Beach Party" was originally performed off-Broadway in 1987 and adapted into a 2000 movie of the same name.

The play follows Chicklet as she pursues her dream of becoming a part of Malibu's surfer scene, all the while displaying evidence of multiple personality disorder. Accompanied by her nerdy--yet fiercely loyal--best friend Berdine (Vera Cremeans), Chicklet joins a comedic world populated by a diverse range of characters, including burned out Hollywood starlet Bettina Barnes (Briavel Schultz); surfers Starcat (Jason Crase), Yo-Yo (Luke Stewart), and Provoloney (Andrew Trimmer); and macho beach surf king Kanaka (Dan Montour), who is taken by surprise by his attraction to one of Chicklet's multiple personalities, a dominatrix alter ego named Ann Bowman, who desires to take over the world.

"Psycho Beach Party" is the first show for Carignan's new company called Columbus Immersive Theater, which encourages deeper engagement between audience and actor during performances.

"It seemed to me (from the success of previous shows like 'Murder Ballad') that there was a market and also an interest in Columbus for theater that wasn't so 'it's over there and we are over here,'" Carignan said. "I'm just really attracted to this idea of theater that isn't so 'audience and actor.' The actors sort of move freely about a space that you are also inhabiting."

To add to the immersive theater environment, Ethel's Stage Left Lounge, also located in the Garden Theater, will be hosting a tiki week, where audience members will be able to purchase beach cocktails to go along with the theme of the show. Pre-show games and prizes are also set to be distributed before each performance.

"Psycho Beach Party" is scheduled to open on the Garden Theater's Main Stage on Friday. Five performances are slated to run through Feb. 1.

Tickets cost $20 and may be purchased by calling (614) 725-4042 or visiting BeachPartyColumbus.com.

Photo Credit: Columbus Immersive Theater