It's no mystery why Charles Ludlam's "The Mystery of Irma Vep" generates so much laughter. This spoof of Gothic horror tales goes to such campy extremes that the two actors embodying its many roles aren't the only ones rendered breathless by the manic proceedings.

Rush to see the funniest show in town at Baltimore's Everyman Theatre.

When this wacky comedy was first done in New York in 1984, it was way out there even by off-Broadway standards. Not only has the show been revived in New York since then, but its silliness has been our way before. Centerstage produced it in Baltimore in 1991 and Rep Stage did it in Columbia in 2000.

This production history is directly relevant, because the director of the Everyman production, Everett Quinton, co-starred with the late Charles Ludlam in that original New York staging. Also, one of the actors in the Everyman production, Bruce Nelson, is reprising the role (roles, actually) he did in the Rep Stage production.

It's no wonder that this latest "Irma Vep" has the lightning-fast timing that the farcical material demands.

So much happens -- and so quickly! -- in "The Mystery of Irma Vep" that a plot summary would be as lengthy as it would be ridiculous. Let's just set the scene and you can supply the laughs as the show jolts ahead with every change of costume and gender.

The stage is evocatively set by scenic designer Jim Fouchard and other members of the creative team. An English mansion on the moors, known as Mandacrest, seems ripe for haunting. The lighting is moody and every noise seems to promise chills and thrills. Besides the thunder that you expect to hear in this genre, there is a noisily boiling tea kettle to make you jump in your seat.

Riffing on an upstairs-downstairs country house storyline, "The Mystery of Irma Vep" opens with a bossy maid, Jane (Clinton Brandhagen), verbally sparring with an uncouth fellow servant, Nicodemus (Bruce Nelson). Sporting a bald head, cracked smile and demented behavior, Nelson's take on Nicodemus prompts one to think that this is how John Malkovich would play an Igor-type character in a sleazy horror movie.

Before you can take off your own jacket, the actors have briefly disappeared from the stage and reappear as the masters of this household. Lord Edgar (Brandhagen) looks like he's ready to head off for a fox hunt, and his second wife, Lady Enid (Nelson), wears a drag queen's dream of a fussy Victorian dress.

In case you're wondering about Edgar's deceased first wife, Irma Vep, her portrait hangs above the fireplace. Irma continues to exert a strange hold on Edgar -- perhaps quite literally.

Brace yourself for a lunatic tale in which the non-stop entrances and exits add up to a mathematically imposing roster of two-character conversations involving Jane, Lord Edgar, Nicodemus, Lady Enid and some very surprising guests. To whet your appetite, the additional characters include a werewolf and a vampire. Moreover, the veddy English setting gives way to an ancient tomb in Egypt.

Brandhagen and Nelson are terrific in their multiple roles. Some of their changes in costume and identity are achieved so rapidly that you never quite get used to it. This is a destabilizing and downright crazy show in all sorts of ways.

It's no wonder that at the reviewed performance Brandhagen briefly slipped out of character and started giggling at one of Nelson's sudden changes in vocal delivery.

These two actors play so many different kinds of men, women and supernatural creatures that it's enough to make you dizzy. Although the complicated silliness thematically wears a bit thin during the second act, the show itself never really slows down. It's basically a drag show that does not drag.

"The Mystery of Irma Vep" continues at Everyman Theatre, at 1727 N. Charles St., in Baltimore. Its run was recently extended due to ticket demand. Tickets are $22 to $40. Call 410-752-2208 or go to www.everymantheatre.org.

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