There is one factor of Die, Mommie, Die! that stands out among the rest: camp! Camp commonly refers to the style of performance that revels in artificiality and over the top style and theatrical elements. Camp is an inherently ironic style that is often self-aware, but the best camp has no idea that it is camp. This paradox is what makes camp so ubiquitous, but it also makes it very hard to determine what is true camp and what isn’t. I tried to find pieces that leaned into camp while also paying homage to some of the stylings of the show and of camp itself.

Contessa Florinda, a sculpture by designer Elena Salmistraro, stood out to me as particularly symbolic of the artificiality highlighted in camp. A good amount of her designs incorporate abstract shapes and colors to create pieces of art that mimic the human form while bringing an unusual feel to it. This sculpture in particular reminded me a lot of Angela/Barbara and her story and motivations throughout the play. Salmistraro describes the subject of the sculpture as such: “armed with extraordinary courage or full of cowardice, she accepts a slow and unnatural changing who's making her become her own mockery” (Salmistraro). Just like the subject, Barbara is subjecting herself to this slow and unnatural changing (into Angela), imitating her in every way she can, mocking her in a way. The mockery also relates to camp in general; while the world is played completely seriously, the play mocks itself and the material it is based on.

Some of the ‘campiest’ media in the entertainment sphere are horror movies. Some franchises are considered quintessential camp, whether they are self-aware or not. Social Mediasochist, a song written by Common Shiner and a music video directed by Zoran Gvojic, is a love letter to those franchises and is camp itself (in my opinion). The music doesn’t take itself too seriously and mirrors a lot of cliches and gimmicks from the early era of slasher movies such as Halloween, Friday the 13th, and A Nightmare on Elm Street. The extravagance of the events in the story of this music video remind me of some of the hilariously crazy things that happen in Die, Mommie, Die!. It also works as an excellent parody, dropping countless references to other media so fast that I couldn’t keep track of all of it.

Another theory that plays a large part in both camp and Die, Mommie, Die! is the idea of gender norms being subverted and playing at the irony of that. Charles Busch, the playwright and Angela in the original production, is a drag queen. The drag scene is another place of extreme subversion of gender norms and is also very campy, their outfits, hair and makeup utilizing the absurdity and satire that camp loves to exist in. The ‘Period Gown’, designed by Jacklyn Hyde and worn by Manila Luzon, is a good example of said camp that also portrays an important part of a woman’s experience without too much irreverence. This gown has an interesting history: it was supposed to air on RuPaul’s Drag Race, but Re said it was in ‘bad taste’ and had Manila wear her backup dress. I think this speaks volumes about camp and how satire can be interpreted as ‘bad taste’ despite the fact that it is intentionally outrageous.