TheatreVCU Opens 2009-10 Season with Psycho Beach Party

Theatre VCU presents Psycho Beach Party, a hilarious spoof of the 1960s and 1970s beach movies and slasher movies, from Sept. 24 to Oct. 4 in the Raymond Hodges Theatre at the Singleton Performing Arts Center, 922 Park Ave.

Psycho Beach Party, which was scripted by playwright Charles Busch, is set in 1962 Malibu and centers on Chicklet, a perky-but-frustrated teenage girl who desperately wants to learn to surf. After a group of surfers and their leader, “The Great Kanaka,” refuse to provide lessons, one of Chicklet’s many alter egos emerges, seeking world domination. Mimicking the corny upbeat tone of 1960s teen flicks, Psycho Beach Party is a demented, campy treat.

“I wanted to kick off the season with an evening of fun with a slight edge to it,” said David Leong, chair of Theatre VCU and producer of the play. “We do a lot of good serious theatre at Theatre VCU, but this comedy spoof is wild, raucous and side-splitting.”

Psycho Beach Party director Steve Perigard, associate artistic director for Theatre IV and the Barksdale Theatre, has directed more than 50 productions, including “The Clean House,” “Peter Pan,” “Intimate Apparel,” “The Full Monty,” “Melissa Arctic,” “Sing Down the Moon,” “Cyrano de Bergerac,” James Joyce’s “The Dead” and “Proof.” Perigard is directing the Barksdale Theatre’s upcoming production of “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.”

Adam Karavatakis, a senior scene design major, designed the production’s sets, and Jennifer Ducharme, a senior costume designer, designed the costumes.

Content not suitable for children.

Psycho Beach Party shows will be held Sept. 24-26 and Oct. 1 at 7:30 p.m. and Sept. 27 and Oct. 4 at 3 p.m. Tickets: general admission is $20; seniors, VCU faculty and staff: $18; VCU students with a valid ID: $8; other students with an ID: $12; and groups of more than 15: $12 per person. Box office phone is 804-828-6026 and e-mail is theatretix@vcu.edu.