“Clue” on a Grand Scale! The Schmee's "Attack of the Killer Murder...of Death!"

Ashley Bagwell behind Allie Pratt in Attack of the Killer Murder of ...Death (photo D Hastings)

Attack of the Killer Murder … of Death

Written by Wayne Rawley

Theater Schmeater 

Through August 16, 2014

There is a ton to like about Theater Schmeater’s opening show in its spankin’ new space. Wayne Rawley’s Attack of the Killer Murder…of Death! is generally funny, though not hysterical every moment. What it is, though, is a great opportunity to hear spot-on dialogue from uniquely specific characters who break out of stereotype to become their own special beings.

Every single member of this large cast pulls his/her weight in solid, fully realized characters. There is so much going on on this stage that it can be hard to focus on the dialogue fully, and you do want to try to do that, because the dialogue is so smart and well-crafted. Like in real life, though, the characters don’t just stop and wait for others to speak; they are constantly interacting with each other, sometimes in hysterical ways.

The basic plot is a bunch of people on an island making a B-movie (or who knows how far down the alphabet you might go on this one). It’s a horror movie, but there are horrors when filming stops. The power keeps going out, props won’t work and then the leading diva does her death scene for the movie…and doesn’t get up!

Review: Well done The Foreigner at Village is a familiar farce

Erik Gratton, Angela DiMarco, Jonathan Crimeni in The Foreigner (Tracy Martin)

The Foreigner

Village Theatre

Issaquah through March 2

Everett: March 7-30

The Foreigner by Larry Shue is a tight, almost perfectly written farce: every little detail introduced into the plot is used later and is a clue to the unfolding mystery. Case in point, at the beginning of the play, we find out that a young man who is developmentally disabled is said to take one bite out of an apple and then leave the apple behind, and deny that he’s even done it. The audience thinks it’s quirky character development, until we later find out who has been leaving the apples and why.

There are half a dozen tiny moments like that in the script and as you begin to see them unfold, your interest in what you already saw and what it might mean later deepens. An old bromide, attributed to Anton Chekhov the playwright, is that if you put a gun in your play, it better get shot later on. In The Foreigner, all the “guns” get shot. You can see for yourself at the Village Theatre with their well done production.

Celebrated musical writer, Brian Yorkey, returns to his old home at Village Theatre to direct this play, their annual non-musical production. He directs a solid cast of seven who sometimes make their numbers look larger (through adept costuming).

The basic ingredients start with a despondent Brit (Erik Gratton) being dragged to rural Georgia by his army buddy, Froggy (Patrick Phillips), to get cheered up while his buddy does some military drills there. But he is so shy and afraid of people that Froggy, spur of the moment, tells the proprietess, Betty (Sharva Maynard), that Charlie doesn’t speak a word of English, hoping to ensure that everyone will leave Charlie alone. Once Charlie is thought not to understand, secrets start pouring out around him and he finds a facility inside himself to begin to enjoy life.

The plot developments are a bit absurd, and Charlie is supposed to find a way to rescue everyone, but it’s a romp with great fun moments. There is a wonderful bit where Charlie is “taught” English by the young disabled boy Ellard (Anthony Lee Phillips) that is a crowd-pleaser. Ellard’s sister, Catherine (Angela DiMarco), is being duped by her fiancée (Jonathan Crimeni) and a nasty side-kick (Eric Ray Anderson who starts off nibbling the furniture and ends up biting big chunks of it in a hysterical bad-guy turn).

Technical support here is luscious, as usual, with a great thunderstorm on a unit set depicting an old lodge (by Matthew Smucker), essential sound work from Brent Warwick to create the outdoor noises, intricate lighting from Tom Sturge, and fun costuming from Melanie Burgess. Charlie’s get up, in particular, helps set a complete tone for his character.

For more information, go to www.villagetheatre.org or call 425-392-2202. Comments welcome on this blog.