“Psycho Beach Party”

It may be less well known now, but back in the 1960s, the character of surfer girl Gidget was popular and influential, the subject of novels, films and TV series starring the likes of Sandra Dee and Sally Field. The dubiousness wholesomeness of the surf genre was ripe for subverting, and in 1987, playwright Charles Busch did just that with Psycho Beach Party (its original title was Gidget Goes Psychotic but was changed due to litigation concerns). He added elements of drag, mental illness, overt sexuality and amped up the camp to create a hilarious satire. The current production by the HorseChart Theatre Company, playing at the Matrix Theatre on Melrose in West Hollywood, is a very enjoyable rendition of Busch’s play.

Production photos by Jeff Lorch.

In 1962 Malibu Beach, Chicklet (Drew Droege) wants one thing more than any other – to learn how to surf. She goes to the local surf guru, Kanaka (Karen Maruyama), but he informs her that girls aren’t allowed. Chicklet is persistent, however, and one schizophrenic episode later, Kanaka lets her join the group. Her best friend, Berdine (Daniele Gaither), is upset because Chicklet is spending all her time surfing instead of with her. The boys are all interested in “incognito” Hollywood starlet Bettina Barnes (Chase Rosenberg), and they aren’t really paying attention to a mysterious psycho who’s shaving the hair off of sleeping beachgoers. Chicklet, meanwhile, is trying to avoid her intimidating mother (co-director Tom Detrinis) from finding out about her new hobby.

Droege is certainly game and funny as Chicklet, but his performance seems so manic that it’s a bit exhausting. Gaither is very amusing as the relatively intellectual Berdine, and Rosenberg flounces around perfectly as the Monroe-esque Bettina. Maruyama is very good as the sexist Kanaka, and Pete Zias is wonderfully bitchy as “friend” of Chicklet’s, Marvel Ann. Detrinis steals the show in a witty, stylized turn, channeling Mommie Dearest Joan Crawford as the outwardly calm but inwardly tyrannical mother.

Detrinis and Ryan Bergmann’s direction is terrific, staging the show with creativity and energy and getting dialed-in, specific performances from their talented ensemble. Yuri Okahana-Benson’s set is cheery and colorful and a perfect contrast to the darker craziness of the play. Although satirizing a series from more than fifty years ago may have diluted some of the topicality of the writing, Busch’s work still retains its anarchic joy. It’s also perhaps the only time Sartre ever gets referred to in a Gidget-esque show: when Berdine talks about reading Nausea, Marvel Ann sarcastically remarks, “I’ll see the movie.”

Psycho Beach Party is presented by HorseChart Theatre Company at the Matrix Theatre and plays through July 20, 2024. Tickets are available online here.