Fifties movie queen Mary Dale has a problem. The Commies are out to bring down her world, to undermine the star system and remove her name from above the title. But at Warren’s 2nd Story Theatre, woefully naïve Mary finds the strength to fight back in Charles Busch’s uproarious comedy Red Scare on Sunset.

This is the second Busch play for 2nd Story. Four years ago, the theater staged his popular Tale of the Allergist’s Wife, about a neurotic doctor’s wife on the verge of a nervous breakdown. If anything, Red Scare is goofier; a wacky romp that pokes fun at B movies and McCarthy-era politics.

But this is not a political play. In fact, politics is the furthest thing from Mary’s mind. She’s a good-hearted, but empty-headed star, whose idea of acting is “learn your lines and don’t bump into the furniture.” And at the moment she is lending her talents to a spectacular about Lady Godiva.

But Mary’s life is far from rosy. Her best friend, red-baiting radio host Pat Pilford, is being blackmailed by the Communists for her sordid past, while husband Frank Taggart has been duped into joining the Party when he signs up for a method acting class. Frank has fallen under the spell of sultry actress Marta Towers, who has “had more Russians in her than the Kremlin,” we are told. She assures Frank he can be a great artist, a serious actor, unlike his starlet wife.

But the Reds have something on Frank, too, and blackmail him to the point where he contemplates committing an unspeakable act.

Meanwhile, houseboy Malcolm, who came to Hollywood as a “young cosmetologist with a dream,” has been tossed out of the Party for being gay.

It’s an outrageous tale, with crisp, clever writing, and in the hands of the 2nd Story troupe and director Ed Shea, graced with some wonderfully campy acting.

Joanne Fayan, who has a flair for comic parts, is terrific as melodramatic Mary, mugging to the audience and hamming it up at every turn. She parodies every moon-faced movie diva — Loretta Young, Joan Crawford, and Barbara Stanwick.

Janine Weisman is just as funny as radio’s Pat Pilford, the rabid anti-Communist whose dirty little secret forces her to capitulate to the Commies and denounce for a moment all she stands for as a capitalist plot. But most of the time, Weisman is a wise-cracking shrew, firing off zingers at anyone she suspects as not being a champion of the American way. This is some of Busch’s best comic writing.

And Chris Perrotti is fine as the gullible, misguided Frank, who gives into his fears and lets himself be manipulated by the left-wingers.

Meanwhile, Jonathan Jacobs as Malcolm the houseboy is busy trying to seduce Frank in some of the most delicious moments of the show.

Paula Faber is a little flat as seductress Marta Towers.

All this is played out on Tristan Jeffers’ revolving set that is unusually ambitious for 2nd Story, which usually goes for minimalist design. At one point, it’s Pat’s stark radio studio, then with a twist shifts to Mary and Frank’s cushy Hollywood home.

The only thing that would have made this production campier, perhaps, would have been to cast Mary in drag, as Busch himself did the part when the play opened in 1991. Busch, who came to fame as a downtown Manhattan drag queen, wrote many of his leading female parts for himself. But then Fayan is such a hoot, the production is just fine with the role played straight.

It is, of course, not the sort of play one takes very seriously. The ending is terribly corny, and a little implausible. Then again, the whole show is corny and implausible. It’s for people looking for laughs and little else, the kind of thing one might turn to to cleanse the palate after something like Trinity Rep’s dark Richard III or the Gamm’s grisly Pillowman.

Ed Shea and his troupe at 2nd Story Theatre in Warren, RI traditionally produce once farce each year. This season he, once again, chose a piece by Charles Busch, Red Scare On Sunset. He chose well.

Mr. Busch writes fanciful comedies and farce, with a terrific female lead, which he often plays. He is the author and star of Die Mommy Die, Psycho Beach Party and originated the role of Mary Dale in Red Scare on Sunset. Charles Busch is a true master/mistress of camp.

In 2nd Story’s production of Red Scare, Mary Dale (Joanne Fayan) is a movie star in 1950’s Hollywood. She can crank out as many movies as the studio needs and play all of the roles without a shred of introspection. Her acting motto is ‘Learn your lines and don’t bump into the furniture’.

Mary’s husband Frank Taggart (Chris Perrotti) is having a mid-life crisis. No longer content with his own acting career or home life, he is seeing another woman, a method-actress named Marta Towers (Paula Faber). Marta draws Frank into the secret life of method acting, which apparently involves swearing allegiance to Mother Russia.

Janine Weisman plays Mary’s best friend, Pat Pilford, a comedian with her own successful radio show. Pat sees herself as a true patriot, sniffing out the communists and homosexuals that hide in the shadows of Hollywood. We are not surprised to learn that Ms. Pilford has some secrets of her own.

Our heroine Mary is busy making a film about the life of Lady Godiva. Between takes she must save her marriage, her friendship, her other-than heterosexual houseboy (Jonathan Jacobs) and the American way of life, from the commies.

From the over-the-top horror of realizing she is surrounded by communists, to her multiple takes mounting a steed as Lady Godiva, Fayan is divine as Mary Dale. Fayan’s on-stage comrades are all at the top of their game.

Tristan Jeffers ‘Lazy Susan’ set design is clever, given the space. Ron Cesario’s costume designs shout out to the audience who a character is before the character speaks. The lighting design, especially the red floodlights, is well executed.

Director Ed Shea is faithful to Busch’s vision of a backward, comedic glance at a very scary time in U.S. history. The context is serious, but 2nd Story’s production of Red Scare is good, campy fun.

Director Ed Shea is well aware of the politics of theatre, acknowledging the heavy “Pillowman” at Gamm and “Richard III” at Trinity.

Shea brings us a satirical play about politics during the McCarthy era of the fifties, with tongue firmly placed in cheek, and presented to make you laugh at the foibles of the time.

Charles Busch’s Red Scare on Sunset is an often silly, over-the-top poke at the communist infiltration into the Hollywood scene.

While as light as a feather and filled with ticklish and tickling dialogue, Red Scare on Sunset manages to get its points across.

The multi-talented Joanne Fayan stars as Hollywood actress, Mary Dale (“I’m a star; not an actress” she proclaims) who gets caught up in the Red Scare.

Chris Perrotti plays her actor husband, Frank Taggart, a talentless actor who is swayed by his lover to take method-acting courses.

Paula Faber plays Marta Towers, the conniving woman who tricks him into joining the Communist Party in the hopes of furthering his career.

Tristan Jeffers has created a revolving stage which allows for more scene changes than you usually experience at 2nd Story. And they work very well.

The catalyst for all the confusion is Pat Pilford (Janine Weisman), an abrasive radio show hostess, who also happens to be Mary’s best friend.

She, like Frank and others, is blackmailed into promoting the red line, with hilarious and disastrous results.

There are commies and homosexuals everywhere. There’s even the satirical line about “Never working in this town again”.

Fayan is hysterically funny as she tries to give her best to the role of Lady Godiva. In addition to some physical humor, Busch has written some very funny satirical dialogue that comes at you fast and furious.

Fortunately, director Shea has coached the actors through some successful comic timing, giving the fast-paced action time to breath and be appreciated.

O.K. So it’s not heavy and biting satire, and can be a bit silly at times.

Go and enjoy. It’s fun.

2nd Story Theatre’s production of Charles Busch’s Red Scare on Sunset travels back in time to 1950s Hollywood when glamour was the measure for success, Method acting was the rage and any shade of crimson was cause for suspicion. The result is a hilarious show business farce, complete with intrigue, deception, innuendo and blackmail.

Busch’s heroine is Mary Dale, a 1950s screen siren whose career is soaring while her husband, Frank, quietly resents existing more in her shadow than on camera. Her best friend, radio personality Pat Pilford, slaps the Commie label on anyone who can say the word Russia without stuttering. Pat is immediately suspicious of fellow celebrity, Marta Towers, who has been secretly meeting with Frank to persuade him to enroll in a method acting class with coach, Yetta Felson. Much to her dismay, Mary discovers the Felson school is the manifesto in disguise, with instructor, Ethel Goldman, at the helm, who wants to do away with Tinseltown’s "star system." Meanwhile, Mary’s houseboy, Malcolm, lusts after her husband, and a former acquaintance of Pat’s, Mitchell Drake, arrives on the scene unexpectedly. Confused? You won’t be. Amused? You most certainly will be.

Director Ed Shea perfectly captures the Hollywood of yesteryear, with the assistance of costume designer, Ron Cesario. The front porch setting of Mary and Frank’s house is so eerily appropriate (it looks as though Douglas Sirk constructed it.) In addition, Mary and Pat adorn outfits that define the era--heels and gloves, swing skirts, floral-print afternoon tea dresses, and pillbox hats. Furthermore, the men sport colorful, perfectly pressed ensembles that truly impress.

Joanne Fayan plays Mary, the lovable ditz, to perfection, with a whispery voice reminiscent of Judy Holliday and the adorable disposition of Marilyn Monroe. Her earnest expressions, as she reacts with either shock or sincerity, are both hilarious and heartwarming. Janine Weisman, as Pat, also delivers a memorable performance; her character’s gift for chatter poses a great challenge for any actress, and she handles it masterfully. Chris Perrotti effectively tackles the role of Frank as both an experienced tough guy and vulnerable amateur. Also, Joan Batting’s performance as Ethel Goldman is especially noteworthy; as she continuously spouts Communist rhetoric, it is difficult to keep a straight face while watching her. Finally, it would be criminal to let Jonathan Jacobs’ portrayal of Malcolm go without mention, because he provides additional comic relief to a show already chock full of laughs. Although his character has an unfortunate ending, the very thought of his plight makes us smile.

2nd Story Theatre does superb justice to a play that pokes fun at a rival entity, motion pictures. Busch’s satire is a delightful walk down memory lane that reinforces the notion of celebrity and how ridiculous a standard it is to uphold.