Theatre Outlet's "Belle Reprieve" is irresistible. Its seemingly aimless plot shenanigans grab attention right from the start and continue to seduce for two hours. It has campy vaudeville shtick, irreverent and politically incorrect jokes and a deliciously wicked take on the battle of the sexes.
Loosely based on the movie version of "A Streetcar Named Desire," "Belle Reprieve" is a play on the name of Blanche and Stella's old home "Belle Reve." Its gimmick is that Blanche is played by a man, Bill Mutimer; Stanley is played by a woman, Meaghan Witri, and Stella is played by Brigitte Choura as an aggressive sexual predator. Phil Haas, who plays Mitch, Blanche's gentleman caller, has an alter ego, a magical supernatural fairy. In other words, no one is what he or she appears to be.