Drag me to Halloween

A missing cat. A man in drag. An onstage séance.

Welcome to the funny, absurdist world of Mrs. Smith, the alter ego of actor David Hanbury.

The theater veteran has spent the past year perfecting his Mrs. Smith persona for audiences at Patrick's Cabaret and Dykes Do Drag -- and now he's ready for her closeup. While Mrs. Smith might look like a frumpy old church lady, she's anything but. She sings (Nirvana tunes), she dances (well, sort of) and she plays electric guitar (seriously). All for the sake of finding her "lost cat."

Hanbury is in the midst of a three-week stint at the Bryant-Lake Bowl for a show he's calling "Mrs. Smith's Halloween Spooktacular." It's part cabaret, part mystery and all craziness. It sold out last weekend.

The high-strung Mrs. Smith is often frightened and speaks with a not-quite-British accent (more "high-American," Hanbury says). In her Halloween show, this upper-crust cat lover will oversee a bevy of cabaret-like entertainment, from audience games and dance numbers to the aforementioned séance.

Hanbury, who is putting on the show with his Sisters Boil theater group, said he wants to make people feel more like they're going to see a rock band than a theater company.

To give you a hint at what to expect, I asked Hanbury if I could speak directly with Mrs. Smith. In her over-the-top New England accent, Mrs. Smith provided me with the following answers.

A Three years ago, my cat Carlyle went missing. He was my feline companion for as long as I can remember. Always there with a kind whisker for me. There was a kidnapping threat against Carlyle in Boston, which was my home for many years. The day after I relocated, Carlyle ran away. I've been inconsolable ever since. But I've been assured by "Pet Psychic to the Stars" Miss Sylvia Cleo that he is alive. When I started to perform, it became a kind of therapy.

Q What's so funny about Halloween?

A I don't think it's funny at all. It's terrible. But there is such a thing as spooky fun. And then there's spooky traumatic. Jack-o-lanterns filled with candy -- that's spooky fun. Being chased by skeletons that are possessed by real-life demons through the sewers of Manhattan -- which has happened to me -- is spooky traumatic.

Q Are you really going to do a live séance onstage?

A It depends on how the night goes. There's songs, there's little dance routines, there's audience interaction. And if the energy is good, Sylvia Cleo -- my dear psychic friend -- will bring the crystal ball out. And I hope people will use her, and maybe hire her. Most of my audience members are really very low-rent people, but maybe they could afford Sylvia.

A I'm always one for creativity, so people need to up the ante. It's better to resurrect a forgotten pop-culture icon than it is to show up as some Snooki creature.

Q Is hosting a Halloween party really the best remedy for all your anxiety?

A It is. Because you gather all of your loved ones around you. And then it's like they're human shields, so if disaster strikes maybe it won't strike me.