“The Play’s the Thing…”
This Live comedy is written by Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer & Henry Shields, directed by Angela McKennie and produced by Donald Horn. It is playing at their space at 1785 NE Sandy Blvd. (free parking lot next to the building) through September 24th. Be advised that full Covid protocols are in place…vaccine cards, masks, etc. For more information, go to their site at www.trianglepro.org or call 503-239-5919.
According to the
quote above from Hamlet, the story is the crux of the play, which will reveal
all. But it can also be taken in another
sense, using “play” the way a child might interpret it, as fun and games, where
anything can happen…and that is exactly what occurs here, as an inept,
community theatre group attempts to put on a murder mystery.
This type of plot
has been done before, as in Tom Stoppard’s, The Real Inspector Hound (which I
have directed); or the movie and play from the board game, Clue (which Bag
& Baggage is doing in the Spring).
Or the excellent Christopher Guest film, Waiting For Guffman. But this is, by far, the most madcap, merry,
mix-up of mayhem I’ve ever seen.! And
it’s presented by an array of many former actors from Triangle’s past shows, to
celebrate its 33rd Season (yay)!
The plot (such as it
is) revolves around the discovery of a corpse of the Patriarch of Haversham Manor,
Charles (Joe Healy), on the eve of his wedding to a socialite, Florence
(Lisamarie Harrison), a bit of a ditz.
Among the suspects are Thomas (Dave Cole), his mysterious brother; Cecil
(Alex Fox), a questionable associate; Perkins (Gary Wayne Cash), an annoying
butler; and a fiercely, dedicated stagehand, Annie (Melissa Whitney). Into this fray appears Inspector Carter
(James Sharinghousen)--not the sharpest knife in the drawer--prepared to solve
this infamous crime…but not before another murder victim is discovered, an
affair is unveiled, and folks are discovered not to be whom they seem (“curiouser
and curiouser”).
If this all sounds
confusing, it is, but the meat of this play is not the plot of the murders, but
the inept way the actors go about presenting the show. And I can tell you, having been involved in
over 200 plays myself, these are no exaggerations: Props that are not there; set pieces that fall
apart; actors that write their lines on their costumes or arms; weapons that
don’t work; actors that don’t show up on cue; lines that get forgotten or that
are repeated; et al. They are all here
in this show and all true, folks.
The cast is dynamite
and it is truly a genius ensemble of some of the best comic talent in the
area! McKennie is a master of creating
visual and verbal comedy and is truly a laugh-out-loud presentation (which is
sorely needed in these chaotic and morose times in our history). Thank you, dear cast and director, for giving
us this reprieve from our troubled world…it is truly needed. And thank you, Donald Horn, for choosing this
vehicle to celebrate 32 seasons of inspiring theatre…may you have many more to
come!
I highly recommend
this show. If you do choose to see it,
please tell them Dennis sent you.
--DJS
