THEATER: The Mousetrap

Agatha Christie’s THE MOUSETRAP,  playing at Millbrook Playhouse, is worth the trip to Mill Hall.

This is one of the best versions that I have seen of this popular play.

The show is exceptionally well directed by Kate Pines; it moves quickly, each character is defined, the humor is actually funny, the timing is good, and the suspense is--yes, suspenseful.

If you saw Love, Sex, and the IRS you saw only a portion of the talents of Brett Epstein, Eileen Glenn, Alexander Taylor Mace, Allison Jordon, and Nicholas Wilder. It amazes me that all of them could be playing silly farcical roles while rehearsing more serious roles in a Christie play.

Nicholas Wilder as Detective Trotter (standing)
and Richard Guido Mr. Paravicini (seated)

Nicholas Wilder got rid of the dress from last week’s Love, Sex and the IRS to play Detective Sergeant Trotter this week, a part with more undertones. He did it with conviction! This week Allison Jordon is the masculine Miss Casewell and given an opportunity for a well done dramatic scene at the end of the play. In fact, if I had not seen their names in the program; I would not have recognized them.

It also took me a while to identify Alexander Taylor Mace. He does an excellent job of keeping in the background as Major Metcalf. Brett Epstein, once again, almost steals the show. This time he is a very disturbed young man, Christopher Wren, who may enjoy the idea of murder just a little too much.

Brett Epstein as Christopher Wren
and Ali Kresch as Mollie Ralston

Richard Guido has been in quite a few Millbrook plays over the years and it was good to see him in a role that seemed to suit him. His Mr. Paravicini is just the right amount of “something rather phony”.

The newly weds, Mollie and Giles Ralston, were played by Ali Kresch and David Jackson. It may have been noted that I am a member of the local Ali Kresch fan club. This season she has come into her own as an actress. She and David did such convincing job that several people near me were sure that one of them “did it”.

The Mousetrap is one of my favorite plays.  In fact, I judge all mystery writers against Christie. It was first produced in 1952 in the West End of London and is still going strong; that’s over 24.000 performances. Christie would not allow it to be published in book form in England as long as the plat was running. It has been published in the United States in an anthology under the title Three Blind Mice.

Millbrook’s production is fresh and vibrant. Taking a play that has a long history and making it seem new is a tribute to the talents of any group.

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee will open on the Main Stage at Millbrook on July 21st. Because this is a show of ad-libs, it will be fun to compare it to Boal Barn’s version. Can’t wait!

BOOK REVIEW: My Brother Was An Only Child

Helping to keep the book shelves organized at the Faith Center is a dangerous volunteer job for me--at least if you listen to my husband Jim. He has pointed out that it is the most expensive volunteer job that I have ever had. He may be right.

MY BROTHER WAS AN ONLY CHILD by Jack Douglas may prove Jim’s point. I first read the book in 1959 while attending a lecture in college on something or another. I forget. I do remember laughing out loud and causing a bit of a disturbance. So, seeing it again was like meeting an old friend unexpectedly and, of course, I had to take it home with me.

You may need some background on the book, and the author, since it never became a leader on any best seller list.

Jack Douglas was a comedy writer in early television. Among his employers was Jack Parr (to those of you much younger than I, Jack Parr was the host of the Tonight Show back in the 1950’s). Parr has written the Introduction to the book in what might not be the most flattering of introductions. Parr says that while some writers are loaded with honor and integrity, leaving out honor and integrity, he has often seen Douglas loaded; he blames that on the evils of an expense account.

In the book itself, the chapter titles give no help what-so-ever in understanding what will be found inside and sometimes the chapter titles are as funny as the chapters themselves.

For example:

“The Story of Wine or Brown Feet, Why Are You Blue?” or “ On One’s Hand It Is Much Better to Have Fingers Than Toes”, or the chapter titled “ Put the Cobra Back in the Basket, Mother--There’ll Be No Show Tonight”, this chapter is not about mothers or cobras, by the way.

Chapter sixteen is “ Famous Bastards”.  To quote it in its entirety : “(What’s the use --- you all know who you are.)”

The complete book is just silly, but now you have an idea of what made me LOL in my younger days. There have been quite a few nonsense books since 1959, but Jack Douglas was an early pioneer in the field.

P.S. Book Clearance by Command of Husband at end of month. Watch the Gazette for details.

THEATER: Love, Sex and the IRS

Nicholas Wilder as "Leslie"
and Alexander Taylor Mace as "Jon"

"Love, Sex, and the IRS" opened at the Millbrook Playhouse on June 30th and my cheeks still hurt from laughing. If any of the subjects mentioned in the title appeal to you, go to see it.

Leslie and Jon, two guys trying to make it as musicians, share an apartment in New York City. To save money on their taxes, Jon has been filing them as a married couple and when the IRS comes to investigate the only sensible thing to do is have Leslie become the “little woman”. Girlfriends, landlords, and mothers show up to complicate things.

Nicholas Wilder gets a chance to strut the stage in drag and an uglier woman has never been seen at Millbrook. The combination of his costuming and his reluctance to wear high heels and make-up is perfect.

Nicholas Wilder as "Leslie"

His roommate Jon, played by Alexander Taylor Mace, is believable as the instigator of this ridicules solution. He is the perfect foil for the silliness of the other cast members.

Ted Cockley is back again this year as the beer swilling landlord. I have often wondered how his parishioners feel about his playing the wild and wacky parts that he seems to carry off so well.

Vivian, Jon’s mother, is bravely played by Eileen Glenn. Somehow she manages to keep a certain amount of dignity in the middle of all of the confusion. A complement to Ms Glen -- even though I have seen her in shows in the past, I did not recognize the actress in this role. That, my friends, is talent.

The girl friends, Kate and Connie, were equally convincing. Allison Jordon, as Kate, is on stage through most of the play and adds her own comedic touch as she tries to hold the boys in line.

Connie, played by Monica Bradley, was a delightful surprise. She was the best touch of “New York” in the show. I wish she were going to be in another play this season; I would like to check what was personality and what was acting.

Nicholas Wilder as "Leslie",
Alexander Taylor Mace as "Jon" and Eileen Glenn as "Vivian"

Brett Epstein almost stole the show as the IRS man. His character gets to go through a wide range of acting opportunities. You have no idea how “still” this man can be. You have to see it to believe it.

Patrick Carroll rounds out the cast, providing the surprise ending.

"Love, Sex, and the IRS" is running July 6th through the 10th. It is in their Cabaret, so don’t forget to take snacks and beverage of choice.

"Buddy - The Buddy Holly Story" will be on the Main Stage starting July 7.

THEATER REVIEW: Annie

 (Editor's note:  while Annie is no longer playing, Pat wanted to put the review online to kick-off Millbrook's season.  The Buddy Holly Story opens this week.)

Ali Kresch, Tiffany Green, Whitney Brown, Rachel Covey, David Raposo,
George Baumer, Lawrence Lescher. 
Photo courtesy of Erika Courtney

Millbrook Playhouse in Mill Hall opened the 2011 summer season with the family friendly Annie to a packed house. This is the forty-eighth season for this true summer stock theatre and it appears that this may be their best season yet.

The story of the eleven year-old orphan, who has been searching for her parents, but finds Daddy Warbucks and the dog Sandy instead, is a familiar one. Director/ Choreographer Stefanie Sertich has given us a pure translation of the story featuring an extremely talented cast.

Orphans:  Emma Heid, Katelyn Boyd, Katheleen Simander, Olivia Hanna,
Rachel Covey, Aimee Hunsinger, Amanda Hibbler, Emma Rohan, Kali Haines.
Photo courtesy of Erika Courtney.

Rachel Covey as Annie was delightful. Miss Covey already has an impressive professional biography and her experience showed. There are not many scenes in the play that these young shoulders don’t carry. I believed that it was her optimism that gave FDR the idea for The New Deal.

Oliver Warbucks was played with moneyed charm by Lawrence Lesher. Mr. Lesher has good voice and good stage presence; I hope that we see more of him. Tiffany Green was under used as the secretary, Grace Farrell. Ms Green did a commendable job, warm and efficient, but we never got a chance to hear her belt out with that terrific voice.

Easy Street:
Ali Kresch, Whitney Brown, David Raposo.
Photos Courtesy of Erika Courtney

The absolute show stopper for me was the number “Easy Street”. Miss Hannigan, her brother Rooster, and his friend Lily were played by Ali Kresch, David Raposo, and Whitney Brown respectively and they almost literally tore up the stage.

Miss Kresch is a veteran Millbrook player and one of my personal favorites. The role of Miss Hannigan showed her range as a performer to perfection. This was David Raposo’s Millbrook debut and I can not wait to see him later in the summer in other roles. To fully appreciate Whitney Brown’s performance, you have to see what an attractive woman she is in real life.

One of the important things to me at an opening show is checking the ensemble cast. These are the people we can expect to see in the future. The ensemble numbers were well directed, well choreographed and busting with individual talent. My pick this year as “the actor to keep your eye” on is Samuel Benedict, who played several small roles, but it was his Bert Healy that high lighted his possibilities.

Cute Molly:  Emma Heid, James David Larson.
Photo Courtesy of Erika Courtney

Jacob as the very well behaved Sandy also deserves special recognition.

Annie runs June 29 through July 3. Opening June 30th in the Cabaret will be Love, Sex, and the IRS. Next on the Main Stage will be The Buddy Holly Story. Think about adding Millbrook Playhouse to your summer theatre schedule.

BOOK REVIEW: 24 Hours

It has been several months since I have treated myself to a Greg Iles book, so when I saw 24 HOURS on the shelf, I prepared myself for a marathon of reading. I simply can not put one of his books down until I finish it.

Joe Hickey has developed the perfect crime. For five years he has gotten away with kidnapping for ransom and it is time for another child to go missing. The routine is simple: wait until the father has gone to the yearly medical conference, have cousin Huey take the child to a hidden spot nearby, have the mother transfer the funds to her husband who is waiting with Cheryl, the third member of the team.

This year things do not go according to Joey’s plan. He has selected the Jennings family and each of them is willing to fight back.

Will is eager to fly to the conference in his rebuilt, ten year old Baron aircraft to present his paper on a new drug that he has been instrumental in developing.

Karin Jennings is reluctantly staying at home to chair this year’s flower show for the Junior League and to take care of their daughter Abby.

Joey has done his homework on this family well. The one thing that he neglected to learn was that Abby was a Type 1 diabetic, which complicates the 24 hour schedule that is important for their scheme to work. Joey, Huey, and Cheryl also are not ready for the three members of the Jennings family to handle the plan in very original ways.

Once again Greg Iles has written a story that grips the reader from the first page. Each of his characters is well developed especially the “bad guys”. In fact, I found myself to be very much in sympathy with them, especially Huey.

The suspense builds throughout the book, but the final scene is worthy of the climax of the best of action movies. An Iles book never disappoints me and this was a “forget -doing -any -housework- or - meals” type of story. The fact that one of the characters was a very young child with Type 1 diabetes added a personal element for me.

If you have not discovered this “thriller writer’s thriller writer”, to quote one reviewer, 24 HOURS may be a good place to start.



P.S. My husband tells me that it is time to clean some books out of the house. Watch for my ‘Books, Books and Other Things You Probably Don’t Need Sale’ at the end of the month.

BOOK REVIEW: The Worst Thing I've Done

Ursula Hegi is an author with a special touch; her ability to set a mood and develop characters is exceptional.  THE WORST THING I'VE DONE shows these talents very well.

Annie, Jake, and Mason grew up together and had developed a special bond. It was taken for granted that Annie would marry one of the boys. The day that Annie and Mason marry, Annie’s parents are in a car accident. Her father is killed instantly, and her mother lives long enough to give birth to a daughter, Opal.

Annie and Mason decide to raise Opal with Jake being an extra father to the infant girl. Annie struggles with being a sister and a mother to Opal, a wife to Mason, a friend to Jake, and to develop the artistic talent that is important to her.

When we first meet Annie, she is spending her time driving aimlessly in her car, eating junk food and listening to advice programs on the radio. She has not come to terms with Mason’s recent death and she keeps hearing his voice making his own comments to the people asking for advice on the radio shows.

As Annie remembers the life she had shared with the people around her, we get more and more insight into the relationship that the three friends shared. Little things from the past come back to her, giving her a better understanding of the people she loves.

Watching Annie put all the pieces of her life together, gives us a story of friendship, love, marriage, and motherhood. In a book that is perfectly plotted, Hegi shows us how sorrow and joy can be closely connected and how both help us to grow.

If you are fortunate to have read Ms Hegi’s Stones From The River, you know what a talent she is.

BOOK REVIEW: Jesus' Parables in Today's Language

Joseph E. Faulkner may be a name familiar to some of you. Dr. Faulkner lives in State College, taught at Penn State for 33 years, and has filled the pulpit in various churches in the area. His recent book, JESUS' PARABLES IN TODAY'S LANGUAGE came to my attention recently and I thought that I would share some of it with you.

Dr. Faulkner has retold the stories from the parables in modern settings making this an ideal book for a study with young people.

One of the best known parables is probably The Good Samaritan. In Dr. Faulkner’s book, a man who works at Wal-Mart is traveling to Washington, D.C. when his car starts to sputter. Pulling over to the side of the road, he is trying to fix the problem when a group of young men come up to him, offering to help. Instead of helping, they beat him and take his wallet and watch. They drive off, leaving the man too injured to stand.

Soon a car stops; the driver is a doctor but he is afraid to get involved. The publicity may hurt his career and there is always the fear of a law suit, so he drives on. Moments pass and another car slows down, but drives on because he thinks that it might be a trap, plus he is scheduled to teach a class on criminal law at John Hopkins that evening.

The third car stops, calls 911 for an ambulance, and follows to the nearby hospital. He tells the receptionist to see that the man gets the best of care and if there is no insurance, he would be back to pay all bills. The young man was a Muslim immigrant.  He was a student and had no extra money, but when he told his fellow students the situation, they helped.

The stories in this book are simple, much as the original stories were, and carry the same message as the originals. This makes the book particularly suitable for a study group. JESUS' PARABLES IN TODAY'S LANGUAGE is available as an electronic book only. Copies can be obtained by emailing Dr. Faulkner or through iTunes.