Anne Wells’ dream of stardom lands her in Boston, where she learns firsthand about the bitter, backstabbing nature of show business. As she climbs her way to the top she watches booze, drugs and sex bring everyone she knows to their knees. Only one survives in this twisted take on a camp classic.
Ryan Landry and his Gold Dust Orphans have long been having their way with some of the greatest films of all time. Finally, the men, women and not-so-easily-identifiable members of this ridiculously talented troupe take on the big kahuna of camp, “Valley of the Dolls.”
In “Valet of the Dolls,” Landry and his sparkly, feathered friends take said dolls and their drug-addled, booze-fueled antics out of Hollywood and plop them down in Boston’s theater district, where the “girls” duke it out for fame and fortune.
Leading the pack as dream-chasing Anne Wells is drag diva Afrodite. Despite a nasty case of foul-mouthed Tourette’s syndrome, she remains chaste for part of the first act. Not so for the rest of the girls.
Though he pays great homage to the gimmicks which have become his trademark, Landry relies more on the talented ensemble to deliver his smartly-penned bitchery. And they’ve never been better.
‘Valet of the Dolls’
Through Sunday
Club Machine
1254 Boylston St., Boston
MBTA: Green line to Kenmore
$35, 617-265-6222
www.golddustorphans.com