Nasty Drew & That Harder Boy: The Mystery of the Family Jewels is an homage to the childhood-favorite mystery series "Nancy Drew" and "The Hardy Boys" and at the same time the latest in a long line of campy, loose-limbed, enjoyably tasteless, envelope-pushing parodies of pop culture icons and tropes that is perhaps most famously epitomized by The Rocky Horror Show, but has its roots in such legendary productions as Beach Blanket Babylon in San Francisco and Vampire Lesbians of Sodom (and many others) by Charles Busch in New York.
The show is the brainchild of burlesque dancer/teacher/entrepreneur Chris Harder, who wrote, directed and stars as the Hardy Boy of many a young, in-the-closet mystery reader's dreams. He even contributed two original songs. There's probably a generation or two for whom the teen detective protagonists are a dim (if not non-existent) memory, more likely from television than the library and bookstore, but Harder fills the stage with so many puns, quadruple entendres, strippers, and cross-dressers that it works quite well without any "back story" for the audience. The burlesque turns by most of the cast separate this show from others in the genre. Some are done in the context of the plot, while others are done in the "commercial breaks" plugging the actual sponsors of the show, performed by the characters. At one point, Harder strips as a pizza boy delivering more than food, and then continues into the next scene in his posing strap as if it were the most natural thing in the world—and in that moment it feels like it is.
Alexis Michelle (as Lady LeVeux De 'Cock, the mysterious blond beauty whose family jewels have gone missing and give the show its title) lip-synchs a top-notch performance of "A Call from the Vatican" (Maury Yeston, from Nine). She is referred to at one point as "the queen of dramatic asides" and earns that title. Pearls Daily (as Mona Crackers—the actual burlesque dancer character in the piece) does a classic disrobing to a medley of such standards as "If You Knew Susie" (Joseph Meyer, Buddy DeSylva) and "I Wanna Be Loved by You" (Herbert Stothart, Harry Ruby, Bert Kalmar) with lots of feathers and sequins and twirling tassels. Mr. Gorgeous (these are the names in the program, folks) is a bit awkward and gangly in a weirdly sexy, Jim Nabors-y kind of way but still quite funny as Police Chief McDaniels, an officer with a not-so-soft spot for younger men, and our hero in particular (handcuffs are involved). With moves that are a combination of classic striptease and old 42nd Street porn theatres, he removes his police garb to reveal a green, leopard-print leotard underneath, before most of that disappears as well.
Fancy Feast (those names again) has great fun as the "Nancy Drew" author, the pseudonymous Carolyn Keene, who co-hosts the proceedings with Bastard Keith, wonderfully wooden as Franklin W. Dixon, the also-pseudonymous author of "The Hardy Boys" novels. As Nasty Drew, Nasty Canasta performs a remarkable climactic dance that utilizes a fake nose, moustache, and glasses on an area of the body other than her face. Chris Harder could easily rest on his body, clothed or otherwise, to get by, but he contributes much more; his wide-eyed, innocent enthusiasm and "game for anything" energy inform and define and hold together the evening.
The show is overlong to a fault, not helped by an intermission. While it is probably necessary for costume and wig changes, I wish Harder had come up with a quicker, less intrusive way around the requirements of the piece. It could easily be cut by 20 minutes or more and still be a full, satisfying show. Nonetheless, the show is great fun and well worth a visit—you will laugh, you will groan, you might even be a bit titillated.
Laurie Beechman Theatre – April 29, May 1, 13, 15, 27
