The quirky murder-mystery-thriller comedy, “Deathtrap”, is currently running at Theatre 29 through February 9th. Z107.7 Special correspondent Les Taylor was in the audience last weekend and offers this review…
“Deathtrap” now running at Theatre 29 offers its audience a clever Ira Levin penned plot, solid performances, a terrific set, some shocks and a few laughs over its two hour run time. With a show like this it’s hard to say much without saying too much but here goes. Leonard Webber as down-on-his-luck playwright Sidney Bruhl is very good and has Bruhl’s disillusioned, bitter, sarcasm down pat, I would have liked to have seen him let his character breathe a little bit more. I mean, this guy must have laughed and had some fun at some point in his life! Also, one of the shows biggest “gasp” lines was delivered almost as a throw-away. But Webber remains true to his characterization throughout the show and it works just fine. I liked Benjamin Bees’ as the younger playwright Clifford Anderson. His transformation from seemingly fawning sycophant to partner in crime was flawless. Of course it’s written that way but Bees makes it happen nicely. Bees is a relative newcomer to Theatre 29 and I hope we see more of him. Janet Peercy has grown as an actress over the years and carries her role as Bruhl’s wife Myra, who has no idea who or what her husband really is, off well. Tom Highfill , with his easy-going natural style on stage, has managed to create that rarest of characters: a likeable lawyer! And Judy Andreshak as the somewhat zany but with an underlying touch of malice psychic Helga Ten Dorp is spot on. I did think her final costume was a bit over the top, though. I didn’t realize the middle eastern influence had made it as far north as Holland. There were a couple of small technical glitches and the show dragged somewhat in the first act the night I saw it but these were minor distractions and can probably be chalked up to second week let-down! All in all Butch Pelfry has directed another winner to start the season at Theatre 29. For tickets and reservations call the Theatre 29 box office at 760-361-4151 or go online to www.Theatre29.org.
WE REVIEW “DEATHTRAP” AT THEATRE 29
