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Reviewed by Keith Waits
Entire contents copyright © 2010, Keith Waits, all rights reserved.
WhoDunnit Murder Mystery Theater has a mission statement of sorts that states, “A well-crafted mystery is a beautiful thing”, and after several visits I am struck by the ambition contained in most of the scripts, all original. Given the limitations in the format of alternating three scenes with dinner courses served by Masterson's, the actual running time of each play is extremely brief, probably less than an hour in most cases, yet the plotting can be quite ingenious and suggestive of more depth than time between the salad and the main course can allow.
So it may only have been high expectations that cause some hesitation concerning the company's latest effort, My Old Kentucky Murder Mystery. It is also difficult to explain any disappointment without delving into the final scene and the solution of the mystery. Suffice it to say that to this viewer's eyes and ears the truths revealed in the climax seemed not to follow the rules of fair play that were stringently adhered to by classic mystery writers: that all that precedes must contain appropriate clues so that the audience has a reasonable chance of deducing the identity of the killer for themselves.
Perhaps this playwright's consistent ambition for cleverness pushed a tad too far in this instance, for I found the story, which involves some complex juxtapositions of current day action with flashbacks to 1956, to lack clarity and purpose, and the solution to be muddled. But, to be fair, there were a very large number of audience members who were able to guess the solution correctly, and whether they were simply more astute than this reviewer in following the clues, or whether it was luck in choosing among the small list of suspects, there is no way to know.
The flashbacks do illustrate Ms. Waterman's continued suggestion of darker and deeper impulses than one might expect in such an entertainment. The main character in the modern-day setting, Frank Cousins, remembers a fateful evening from his childhood and these scenes contain evidence of tragedy other than a potential murder, as we witness neglect and suggestions of physical abuse towards young Frank that establish a sound context for the eccentricity he displays as an adult. These ideas seemed to lend more of a challenge to the staging, as two characters are represented in the flashbacks without benefit of actors, leading to some slight confusion in these scenes.
Among the cast, some WhoDunnit mainstays engaged the audience effectively in the proceedings. Niles Welch was delightfully off-kilter and bemused as Frank Cousins, and Erica Goldsmith was the epitome of the curvy, va-voom sex appeal of an archetypal 1950's bad girl as Lois Cousins, Frank's blowsy mother. Joe Martin was suitably stern as her husband and Jeff House was a scene-stealer as friend of the family Horace Ross. His in-character audience interactions between scenes (part of the format) were some of the best I've seen at WhoDunnit, and these moments were arguably the best acted of the evening. Kirsten Merritt was very good as his wife, Sue Ellen, and Alicia Davis was exemplary as the aptly named old Dottie, a character in both time frames whose apparent senility and short-term memory loss were forcefully rendered. Sarah Mackell was a serviceable young Dottie in the flashbacks, where the character is far less memorable. I confess that I was a little disappointed in Graham Bell's performance as police Sgt. Joe Kelly, perhaps because Mr. Bell usually excels at essaying more colorful and flamboyant characters and the dull flat-foot does not engage him.
The production values are necessarily limited given the location and format, but I was struck by the costumes and make-up for Ms. Goldsmith and Ms. Merritt, who looked they stepped right out of a Douglas Sirk film, and the effective use of a single light and repeated freeze takes to delineate the flashbacks. A humorous use of the Dragnet theme for Sgt. Kelly's ring tone was also a nice touch.
My Old Kentucky Murder Mystery
Written by A.S. Waterman
Directed by Joe Monroe
Saturday evenings Feb. 6, 2010 – March 27, 2010
WhoDunnit Murder Mystery Theater
Masterson's, 1830 South Third St.
(502) 426-7100 WhoDunnit Murder Mystery Theatre |
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