Cutting Commentary

Heading into a live theater performance is always a gamble. Despite sparkling reviews, you might get tickets for the night when the leading lady got dumped or has food poisoning. But if you’re heading into a musical directed by someone who has worked with RuPaul and previously conceived of a show called Shit and Champagne, you can probably be sure of one thing: You won’t be bored. D’Arcy Drollinger’s latest effort, Scalpel! (Shakespeare could have done with more exclamation points in his titles), lampoons both wealth and the relentless pursuit of the beauty standard. A gaggle of New York City socialites frequents the same plastic surgeon, the highly regarded Dr. Bulgari. (Is this a reference to the famous Italian watch and jewelry maker, Bvlgari? A clever joke about fruitless efforts to stave off the passage of time?) But all is not well, and when people start dying, it seems that the good doctor’s gifts and the women who take advantage of them may be tied to a larger, more sinister plot. If a mystery coupled with plastic surgery and the moneyed Upper East Side scene isn’t enough to whet your appetite, know this: The play employs a fight choreographer, and there will be makeup. Lots of makeup.

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• William Shakespeare
• Upper East Side
• RuPaul Charles
• Cosmetic Medicine
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A preview of Scalpel! starts at 8 p.m.
March 30-April 17, 2010