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THEATER
PREVIEW: "Something's Afoot" at Curtain Call Theatre
By JAMES FURBUSH The Patriot Ledger
It's quiet at the Curtain Call Theatre in Braintree as Chris Tilden
and Rachel Fisher-Parkman work out the kinks in their dance routine
with choreographer Mariam Joseph, in the dark. Then house lights
flicker on over the darkened stage, illuminating the threesome,
as director Martha Sawyer climbs down from the lighting rails. It
is roughly two weeks until the March 10 opening of "Something's
Afoot", a musical murder-mystery spoof.
The theater company has to steal rehearsals whenever time permits
because there is still a lot of work to do. "I've wanted to
do this show since I first saw it (in the 1980s)", Sawyer said.
The play had a brief Broadway run in the 1970s, but has become obscure
since. The play is reminiscent of the movie "Clue", and
loosely spoofs the works of mystery novelist Agatha Christie, specifically
"Ten Little Indians."
Set in the 1930s, 10 stereotypical mystery characters are invited
to a country estate. When the owner is found dead, the story becomes
a race to discover the killer. Of course, many other characters
are murdered, along the way. "They die spectacularly,"
Sawyer said, of the show's appeal. "It's not just that they
die, but how they die." And of course, Sawyer would not give
away how any of the characters die, lest she ruin one of the better
aspects of the show, except she said many of them are from "booby
traps or other elaborate means."
Those deaths present the intimate Curtain Call Theatre, which seats
65 to 70, with technical challenges. In such a small space, the
audience is just a few feet from the stage. At its best, that intimacy
helps break down the barrier between audience and production. At
its worst, the opposite happens. "You really have to be on
your game," Sawyer said. The deaths have to be executed flawlessly,
or they won't be believable.
Curtain Call was founded in 1962, and the company used Thayer Academy's
stage for many years. Now the community theater company has its
own performance space in a converted church on Commercial Street.
Sawyer, who has been with the troupe since 1977 when she began running
summer workshops, said having its own space makes sense. "We
were losing our shirt" said Sawyer, who is also president of
Curtain Call. Financially, they were better off selling out every
show at their own small venue, instead of renting a large production
space. The smaller venue has not limited the group's ability to
perform certain shows, even big musicals. "Except Peter Pan,"
she said. "There's the whole flying thing, which is tough to
do."
With two weeks until the curtain goes up, Sawyer was still worried
about this show's music, choreography and technical aspects coming
together - but then again, plays always seem to jell in the final
two or three weeks, she said. And while she never knows which plays
will become crowd pleasers, she feels this one will make the audience
laugh, smile and feel scared. "The word is entertained,"
she joked.
SOMETHING"S AFOOT! At Curtain Call Theatre, 182 Commercial
St., Braintree, March 10-12 and 16-18, $18 Friday and Saturday,
$16 Thursday and Sunday. All shows at 8 p.m., except March 12 at
2 p.m.
Copyright 2006 The Patriot Ledger
Transmitted Wednesday, March 01, 2006
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