AIIIIEEEEAAAAAHHHH! SCREAM QUEENS BRING B-MOVIE CHARMS TO SANTA MONICA.

Byline: Eric Estorga Staff Writer

The scantily clad, buxom heroine runs frantically through the woods (obviously being pursued by someone - or something - horrible), tripping, falling, slipping and (eventually) getting stuck in a hole. Then there it is ... ``Aiiiieeeeaaaaahhhh - the scream that launched a thousand B movies.

It all happens at Santa Monica's Magicopolis, where ``Scream Queens - The Musical'' pays homage to B-movie actresses in a production that originated in 1998 at the Whitefire Theatre in Sherman Oaks.

The musical-comedy revue is set in a hotel ballroom outside Cleveland, where the International GlamaGore ScreamiCon, an annual convention for fans, collectors and celebrities of the direct--to--video B--movie horror-film genre, is taking place. It's here that a panel of starlets, routinely cast in low-budget horror movies, convenes to sing about their bittersweet career choices - with a backdrop of faux slasher-flick posters.

Director and playwright Scott Thomas is an unabashed B-movie fan - and has been since he was very young.

``My personal interest started when I was kid and going to several conventions,'' Thomas said. ``They always tell you to write about what you know about, and my interest was horror and the sci--fi genre, which gave me the idea.

``Scream Queens'' marks Thomas' first major directorial effort. He staged the production with the help of choreographer and co--director Adrea Gibbs, who took charge of the musical staging and presentation of the show.

In ``Scream Queens,'' Martin and Gibbs showcase the B--movie glamour girls via a kitschy ambience of tongue--in--cheek dialogue and a layer of adolescent humor only a true B-movie fan can appreciate.

``The genre is always popular with prepubescent and teen-age boys, because they want to see monsters running around after women in their bikinis and nighties,'' said Thomas. ``And then again, some of us grow out of this fixation and some don't.

``So many people making the films of the genre grew up in the '50s and '60s reading Forry (Forrest J.) Ackerman's 'Famous Monsters of Filmland' as a child. That's why those self-parodies and in-jokes are coming out now in movies like Wes Craven's 'Scream.' ''

In the play, Andrea Buchanan, Jean Carol, Anita Morales, Alexander Raines, JJ Rodgers and Amy Tolsky play six leading ladies whose days as popular adolescent sex symbols are fatefully numbered.

Richelle (Buchanan), a famous starlet of the late '80s, has been typecast as a chain-saw-wielding psychotic killer bimbo.

Alexis (Morales) takes a very businesslike approach to managing her money and publicity in order to maximize the rewards from her acting career before her beauty and popularity fade.

Then there's Dee Dee (Raines), a former prom turned porn star, grinding out horror films and triple-X shorts in hopes of someday getting between the sheets with someone who can genuinely advance her career.

Nadine (Carol) is the senior member of the group, having started her career in many of the European horror films of the early '70s. Her classy British demeanor and ageless physical allure have kept her a favorite among fans for two generations.

The actresses get to show their range, Gibbs says, because every musical number draws on a different kind of song and dance - everything from tap to ballads.

Rodgers, a bouncy former high school cheerleader, sings a ballad dedicated to Fay Wray. Tolsky tells how her family mightily disapproves of her career in the country--twanged ``I'm Alright, Momma.'' Dancing to a Latin rhythm, Morales leads and invites the audience members to portray the ``Night of the Living Dead'' extras in ``South of the Border.''

Rodgers and Tolsky, who were both in the original Whitefire Theatre production, were cast in their same roles as veterans of the cheesy slasher films. ``I grew up watching 'The World Beyond' on Saturday mornings with my father,'' says Rodgers. ``I saw 'Godzilla vs. King Kong,' 'Attack of the Killer Ants,' and I adore old horror movies. I've always loved the genre.''

In a case of art imitating life, Rodgers is an authentic B-movie actress whose career caught fire when she was cast in ``Sister of Sin'' (1995) as Sister Lust, one of three witchy siblings with the power to embody the fantasies of male admirers. She followed that with three movies: ``Sorority House Vampires,'' ``Vampire Time Travelers'' and ``Amazon Warrior.''

Clips from some of Rodgers' films are being used in the stage production of ``Scream Queens'' to outline her character and explain to the novice what a B movie actually is. Two-minute clips introduce the other five actresses, too.

Director Martin has plans for a sequel to ``Scream Queens,'' which he expects to take shape by the end of next year. He's also working on a musical exploration of the relationship between Bram Stoker and the famous Victorian English actor Henry Irving.

``I did a lot of research, and now the project is beginning to gel,'' says Martin. ``Few people knew Bram Stoker wrote `Dracula' for Henry Irving in a stage version and actually spent 25 years of his life managing his career.''

THE FACTS

--What: ``Scream Queens - The Musical.''

--Where: Magicopolis, 1418 Fourth St., Santa Monica.

--When: 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays through March 18.

--Tickets: $20. Call (818) 789--6066.

CAPTION(S):

photo, box

Photo: Amy Tolsky, left, and Jean Carol warm up their vocal cords for ``Scream Queens - The Musical,'' during a rehearsal at a Sherman Oaks home.

Craig Fuji/Staff Photographer

Box: THE FACTS (see text)