For the final show of its 2005-06 season, Gypsy Productions stages Charles Busch's Psycho Beach Party, a campy, cross-dressing satire of Hitchcockian psychological thrillers and 1960s surf and beach blanket epics. The Gidget-like protagonist, Chicklet, is a seemingly harmless Malibu Beach teen who wants to learn how to surf and be accepted into the ranks of a group of beach bums led by the great Kanaka. Alas, Chicklet unknowingly suffers from a psychosis that manifests itself in multiple personalities, the most dominant being Ann, a raging, foul-mouthed dominatrix who will accept nothing less than total control of the planet Earth. Derek Baxter directs. Following Friday night's opening show, guests enjoy a reception with the director and cast. Aug. 25-Sept. 17, 8 p.m. Fri.-Sat., 1:30 p.m. Sun., Suncoast Theatre at the Suncoast Resort, 3000 34th St. S., St. Petersburg, $18, 727-456-0500 www.gypsyproductions.org.
This article appears in Aug 23-29, 2006.