Legendary Detective Sleuths Come to Park Square 6/16

Park Square continues its 42nd season on the Proscenium Stage with its annual summer mystery tradition. Might as Well Be Dead: A Nero Wolfe Mystery leads America's version of Sherlock Holmes in search of a Saint Paul native. Directed by Peter Moore, Joseph Goodrich's world premiere commission by Park Square's own Mystery Writers Producers' Club new adaptation brings the irascible gourmand gumshoe to vivid life in a fast-paced whodunit.

Eleven years ago, a wealthy Saint Paul businesswoman unjustly threw her only son, Paul, out of the family business. Now she wants Nero Wolfe (E.J. Subkoviak*) to find Paul so she can make amends. But what if the young man doesn't want to be found? And what if he's the same Paul Herrold on trial for murder? This case draws the great detective and his devoted sidekick into a web of deceit - one that even the master sleuth may regret taking on.

Through more than six dozen novels and novellas, the mid-twentieth century writer Rex Stout created one of American literature's most curious, charismatic, and memorable characters in Nero Wolfe. While many literati looked down on pulp fiction (so called for the practice of printing the books on cheap paper), Rex Stout was one of the first writers to lift the hardboiled genre to a major art form - without sacrificing the funny and thrilling aspects that brought him such wide readership and admiration.

Might as Well Be Dead: A Nero Wolfe Mystery also features Derek Dirlam, Brandon Ewald, Brian Joyce, Michael Paul Levin,* Don Maloney, Am'Ber Montgomery, Jim Pounds, Paul Reyburn, Marisa B. Tejeda, and Austene Van.*

The creative team for Might as Well Be Dead: A Nero Wolfe Mystery includes Brandon Ewald (Fight Choreographer), Anita Kelling (Sound Designer), Mike P. Kittel (Lighting Designer), Sophie Peyton (Assistant Director), Rich Polenek (Set Designer), and Bobbie Smith (Props Designer).

Might as Well Be Dead: A Nero Wolfe Mystery Performance Schedule: Previews begin Friday, June 16, and continue through Thursday, June 22. June 23 is Opening Night, and the run continues through July 30. Showtimes are 7:30 p.m. except for Saturday and Sunday matinees, which begin at 2 p.m. All performances are on the company's Proscenium Stage in Saint Paul's historic Hamm Building, 20 W. Seventh Place.

Ticket prices: Previews: $27 and $37. Regular Run: $40 and $60. Discounts are available for seniors, those under age 30, and groups. Tickets are on sale at the Park Square ticket office, 20 W. Seventh Place, or by phone: 651.291.7005, (12 noon to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday), or online at www.parksquaretheatre.org.

*Member, Actors Equity Association.