Murder Inn Supplies a Surprisingly Strong Whodunnit at the Plymouth Playhouse

Murder Inn by Howard Voland and Keith McGregor runs through November 2 at the Plymouth Playhouse. This is community theater, and as such, I don’t hold it to quite the same standards as I would a professional production. The performances are a bit uneven, some very fun and none particularly weak, but the show’s real strength lies in its script.

The set,I assume by Dan Sherman (he’s listed as Set Manager), is impressive, and Bronson Talcott’s costumes add a nice touch of character. But the real reason to see Murder Inn is for the story itself.

It’s a classic whodunit in the spirit of Agatha Christie. A group on a tour of haunted sites in New England becomes stranded by bad weather at an inn that has just closed for the month of November. The inn, run by Martha Talbot and her son Jake, isn’t prepared for guests, but with the roads impassable, the travelers have no choice but to stay. You see, Martha closes the inn every November because the ghost of her ancestor Marcus becomes restless that time of yea. He has a habit of throwing knives at people. That hint of the supernatural gives the play a fun extra layer of suspense.

This production is apparently the first in a series of plays by Voland and McGregor featuring two elderly women, Grace and Doris. Grace played by Wendy Freshman who’s quite good as the amateur sleuth, very much in the tradition of Miss Marple or Jessica Fletcher. While Doris, played by Shelley Nelson, provides comic relief that’s a bit over the top. I particularly enjoyed the character work from Amy Madson and Tristan Wilkes and Martha and Jake Talbot and Sher U-F as the slightly goofy Muriel, who travels with a Ouija board in order to converse with the spirits.

Murder Inn is light, funny, and surprisingly satisfying, a charming mystery caper perfect for a fall evening. And one that actually keeps you guessing until the final reveal, and as an added bonus, the reveal is satisfying. Murder Inn, presented by 4 Community Theatre, runs through November 2 at the Plymouth Playhouse. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit 4communitytheatre.org.

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The Unexpected Guest Keeps the Audience Guessing Right till the End at Theatre in the Round

Corinne Nobili and Sam Sweere Photo by Aaron Mark Photo Film

The Unexpected Guest is this years annual Agatha Christie play at Theatre in the Round Players in Minneapolis. Faithful readers will know that I’m a bit of an Agatha Christie devotee and as such, I always catch these productions. Usually because I am such a fan, I know the solution to the mystery either before it begins or after a few minutes it comes back to me. What I loved about this production is that because it is a play and not an adaptation of one of her novels, and a play I haven’t seen, I didn’t have the fore knowledge that I usually do. The play starts off after the murder has occured. An unexpected stranger named Michael Starkwedder who has run his car into the ditch due to the extreme fog of the night enters a house in the country in search of a telephone and discovers the body of Richard Warwick. He also discovers the victims beautiful wife Laura standing in the dark holding a gun and ready to confess to the murder. Taken in by her beauty he decides to try and help her cover up the crime and throw suspicion on another man who has a motive. But if it were that simple it would be a episode of Columbo where we know who the killer is and the suspense will be if he gets away with it or not. To be honest that’s more or less what I thought we were getting. The first Act does feel like it’s moving a little slowly. But then, not only does the other shoe drop, a whole shoe rack falls and at least half of the cast at one point or another you’re certain is the killer. When the final curtain falls you can’t even be certain you really knew whodunnit, but in a very satisfying way.

Director Dr. Mary Cutler does a nice job of staging the show, she never allows the cast to telegraph too far in advance the next twist and turn in the plot. I especially appreciated a scene between Laura played by Corinne Nobili and family friend Julian Farrar played by Mark A. McCarthy that Cutler orchestrates so that the penny drops just a few beats for the audience before the characters catch on. It’s a moment well played by Nobili and McCarthy and it changes everything for the audience and the characters, who up until that moment, think they know what has happened. There is also a great scene between Kathleen Winters as Miss Bennett who has been with the family for years and seems to care for her scene partner Pharaoh Jones’ character, Jan the younger brother of the victim, and who is not playing with a full deck. Winters conveys Miss Bennett’s bravery and fear in equal measure as she tries to calm but also draw out the excitable Jan, it’s a very tense and effective scene with Jones playing unstable very convincingly. Sam Sweere is very charming as Michael Starkwedder, that classic Christie character type, the outsider who stumbles into something that is none of his affair but feels compelled to try and help (see Murder is Easy and Ordeal by Innocence).

The Unexpected Guest isn’t as iconic as The Mouse Trap or Murder on the Orient Express, but what it has over those is that many of us don’t know the story or the solution and that is great fun and a rare thing for an Agatha Christie fan. I had a great time with it and debating the end with my fellow theatergoers afterwards. If you like a good twisty mystery this will not disappoint. The Unexpected Guest runs through December 22nd at Theatre in the Round Players. For more information and to purchase tickets go to https://www.theatreintheround.org/the-unexpected-guest/

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I’ll be Homicidal for Christmas, A Laugh Filled Murder Mystery That You Get to Help Solve!

Eric Webster, Kathy Kupiecki and Paul Somers

I love a mystery, I mean it, I’m not just listing the name of an old radio program, I really do love a mystery. What I discovered today, but have suspected for a long time, is that I’m no good at solving them. But hey, maybe that’s why I like them so much, the solutions always strike me as ingenious. I’m content to be Dr. Watson along for the ride, baffled and then embarrassed at how elementary it all sounds when it’s explained to me like a fourth grader trying to grasp the difference between a semicolon and a colon. And like the mystery of the colons each time a new whodunnit arises I’m baffled all over again. All I know for certain is that a couple of years ago I had part of my : removed, so now I just have a ;. The Mystery Cafe has been baffling and making audiences laugh since 1989; but this was my first meal and a murder with them: and I found it delightful! The current show, I’ll be Homicidal for Christmas runs into January, but if you can’t make that they also have two other shows on their schedules and one of them runs into February.

I attended a brunch performance and aside from the very entertaining show there was a tasty buffet meal, I believe the evening performances come with a 3 course meal. The plot of I’ll be Homicidal for Christmas per the Mystery Cafe website is:

Albee Humphrey used to be a household name, but these days his star is fading. He’s got one last shot at a comeback – with a network televised Christmas special. There’s celebrity guests, variety acts, and…murder. This is his last chance to be a star again. He’ll either make it back on top… or die trying!

Albee Humphrey is played by Eric Webster of the MORLS or The Mysterious Old Radio Listening Society for long, which faithful readers will recognize as a favorite of mine. I’d seen and heard Webster Perform with the MORLS and in other shows for years, I’ve even interviewed him for the Twin Cities Theater Chat podcast (click on link to hear that episode https://bit.ly/TCTCMORLS ), so I knew he could act and that he’s very funny, but what I wasn’t aware of is that he’s a very good singer as well. Webster is perfectly cast, his love of classic radio and films informs his performance as Humphrey, he nails the look and style of the character. When I booked the show I was also excited to see his wife Shanan Custer was also in the cast. I was a little disappointed when I found out she wouldn’t be at the performance but her replacement Kathy Kupiecki was wonderful playing three different characters. My favorite of which was Sheila, one half of a knife throwing act, whose name I can remember because she kept introducing herself. Also doing triple duty in the show is Paul Somers who plays the other half of the knife throwing duo as well as Pickles the Ventriloquist and Bernie Bridges. Bridges is the other half of a comedy team with Humphrey in the mold of Martin and Lewis who hate each other and haven’t worked together in 20 years. Somers is hysterical in all three roles getting the most fabulous costume and wigs to round out his eccentric characters. The other main performers are the wonderful Randy Schmeling as the Director of the TV special and Rita Boersma as Frankie his assistant. Both are decked out in 1970’s attire really looking the part, hats off to whomever is in charge of costumes and wigs they add so much fun to the experience. And lastly, as the almost overlooked Production Manager Simon is Michael Franssen, he doesn’t get a lot to say but you can tell he’s the guy behind the scenes keeping everything on track.

The wonderful cast does a great job of performing in and amongst the audience. I’m always surprised at the ability of certain performers to stay in character while stand right next to the audience and even interacting with them. I know some of these performers from seeing them in improv shows and I suspect those skills serve them well here. I got the sense that a couple of the lines spoken to each other were unscripted and it was fun to see them trying not to laugh at the lines they were being fed. For more information and to purchase tickets to I’ll be Homicidal for Christmas or any of the Mystery Cafe shows go to https://www.themysterycafe.com/

This Holiday season why not start a new tradition of taking in a live theater production with family and friends? It’s a great way to create lasting memories and will give you something to look forward to every year as you experience the magic of live theater. Whether your budget is large or small, there is a show for you. Looking for gift ideas? Don’t we all have enough “stuff”? Give the gift of live theater, go to your favorite theaters website, see what shows they have coming up in the new year and give the gift of an experience over material.

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I am also a member of the Twin Cities Theater Bloggers (TCTB), where you can read roundups of shows by my colleagues and I when you follow us on facebook @TwinCitiesTheaterBloggers. We also produce the podcast Twin Cities Theater Chat!! which you can access through this link or wherever you enjoy podcasts https://twincitiestheaterchat.buzzsprout.com/ . We post biweekly longer form episodes that will focus on interviews and discussions around theater topics. There is also shorter episodes in which we Bloggers tell you what we think you should get out and see as well as what we have on our schedules that we are most looking forward too.