The Real Inspector Hound is Genuine Good Fun

It's a murder mystery.  No, it's a parody of a murder mystery.  No, it's a farce about theatre critics who take their job a little too seriously when reviewing a murder mystery.  Whatever it is, Dallas Hub Theater's production of The Real Inspector Hound will keep you laughing and guessing until the very end.

The Real Inspector Hound was presented on Broadway in 1992.  It is the work of British dramatist Tom Stoppard, who also authored Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, Travesties and The Real Thing.  It has become a staple of local theatre companies all over the country—including the Re‑Establishment Club Players in Los Angeles and SecondStory Repertory in Seattle.

Mr. Stoppard has crafted a delightful play.  The lines are genuinely funny and definitely frequent.  All the stock characters of a murder mystery are present for our amusement—the "grieving" widow who can still enjoy the company of a handsome man, the mysterious stranger, the unbalanced relative, and the overstated maid who just happens to witness every time one character threatens to kill another.

Tim Shane, the Director of the piece, has caught all this with proper attention and a knowing eye.  The pacing was perfect—the comic movements did not overwhelm the thriller portions and therefore the audience was able to enjoy all the aspects of Mr. Stoppard's work.  The small theatre (it seats just under 100) proved to be the perfect venue for this intimate play—it was quite natural for the theatre critics in the audience to mingle with the characters on stage.

The performers wring every laugh out of the comic situations.  Kara Tovick as Mrs. Drudge, the maid, had so many facial expressions it appeared as if her face was made of putty.  All she had do was open her saucer-like eyes a little wider and the audience burst into spontaneous laughter.  As the unbalanced relative, Daniel St. Clair used his wheelchair as a weapon with unbridled passion and employed a wonderful stage voice for marvelous comic effect.

Heidi Edstrom and Molly McKee also scored as the two women battling over the mysterious stranger, enacted with just the right touch of aloofness by RobertShores.  Mark Edinburgh played the Inspector with a stiff-upper-lip zaniness that struck just the right tone for the evening.  As the two theatre critics, Tyler Rinehart and R. Bradford Smith delivered some of the play's wittiest lines and provided wry commentary on the murder mystery within the play.

The Real Inspector Hound benefited from a clever stage design (also by Mr. Shane) and costumes by Jamie Little-Puente that were as funny as the performances.  Check out the splash of color that Miss Little-Puente adds to the costumes in the final scene!

Although The Real Inspector Hound lasts only a little over an hour, it provides as much (if not more) entertainment than shows that have double its running time.  I highly recommend that you go see The Real Inspector Hound and discover for yourself what a truly unique production it really is.
 
The Real Inspector Hound plays at The Dallas Hub Theater through October 29.  For more information, please visit the company's website.

Photo 1:  Molly McKee, Mark Edinburgh, Heidi Edstrom, Daniel St. Clair (in front) 

Photo 2:  Molly McKee, Kara Tovick, Robert Shores, Heidi Edstrom

Photo Credit:  Daniel St. Clair 

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