Stage Write

When the play you’re about to see is a murder mystery called “And Then There Were None”, you know there will be a body count. The deliciously dark Agatha Christie novel comes to life on the stage in the Booth Tarkington Civic Theatre‘s current production. Unlike most of its shows, this one is held in the smaller, more intimate Studio Theater, a great fit for the chilly drama. Ten strangers find themselves trapped on an English island with a killer in their midst. They soon realize not all is as it seems when they are all accused of committing various murders. The three-act play has one 15 minute intermission and then a short pause after the second act. The pace clips along briskly as the story unfolds. Charles Goad had quite the challenge as the director. He has to show murders, both onstage and off, without revealing the killer. It’s a game of sleight-of-hand and he manages it beautifully. The audience is pulled into the guessing game as the bodies piled up. I frequently he...

A mysterious murder presented in the round is the latest offering from the EclecticPond Theatre Company. Sherlock Holmes is back in The Speckled Band in Irvington. With a limited set and six-person cast, the show builds suspense quickly with a locked-room murder and a dangerous villain. Kelly Gualdoni is particularly good as Enid Stonor, a strong young woman willing to stand her ground even after her twin sister is murdered. She plays Enid as intelligent even in the midst of her fear. Her menacing uncle, played by Dan Flahive, controls her every move and most days he can barely keep his temper in check. Bradford Reilly plays the infamous Sherlock Holmes. He struggled with his lines at times, but he’s well suited for the role. He embraced the presumptive air of the brilliant detective and never slowed down to let his well-meaning sidekick catch up with his thought process. Ryan Maloney makes a very young Dr. Watson, but was a calm balance to Holmes’ impatience. ...