Review: Hale Centre Theatre Presents SOMETHING'S AFOOT

It was a dark and stormy night....Yes, we're reviewing a whodunit, in this case, Hale Centre Theatre's thoroughly delightful production of SOMETHING'S AFOOT, a musical spoof on Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None, a.k.a. Ten Little Indians.

Cambrian James once again demonstrates his remarkable directorial gifts by elevating a light-hearted comedy into a showcase of marvelous gags and surprises and demonstrating just how joyous and side-splitting melodrama can be.

He is aided and abetted in this endeavor by a perfect and highly entertaining cast, extravagantly wrapped in Mary Atkinson's beautifully tailored garments.

It would be an injustice to reveal the twists and turns of this murder mystery, save to note, first, that a dectet of guests and staff are stranded in the English country estate of Lord Dudley Rancour who has been dealt the bad hand of murder and, second that the butler didn't do it! As, one by one, the guests meet their maker in the most diabolical and comical of ways, the dwindling group, facilitated by Miss Tweed (Janis Webb), an amateur detective, persists in its quest to identify the perpetrator.

Each member of the cast has done a royal job of defining his/her character and each, in addition to Ms. Webb, deserves a healthy shoutout: Heidi-Liz Johnson as Lettie, the sassy maid; Geoffrey Goorin as Flint the ever-ready-for-a-fling caretaker; Malcolm Hooper as the quite proper butler; Jacqueline Brecker as Hope Langdon, a hopeless romantic with reason to hope; Curtis Lunt, as Geoffrey, a college boy seeking shelter from the oncoming storm; Stephen Serna as Dr. Grayburn, the family doctor; Matthew R. Harris, hilarious as Nigel Rancour; Ami Porter, stunning as Lady Grace Manley-Prowe; and Mark Kleinman as the officious Col. Gillweather.

To their collective credit, this cast brings energy and panache to the music and lyrics of James McDonald, David Vos, Robert Gerlach, and Ed Linderman.

SOMETHING'S AFOOT continues its frolicky run at Hale Centre Theatre through October 10th.

Photo credit to Nick Woodward-Shaw