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| The cast of Murder at the Five and Dime. Photo – WhoDunnit Murder Mystery Theatre. |
Murder at the Five and Dime
Written by Teresa Wentzel
Directed by Craig Nolan Highley
Reviewed by Keith Waits.
Entire contents are copyright ©
2013 Keith Waits. All rights reserved.
Pace and momentum are often points of
discussion in a theatre review, but WhoDunnit shows always face a curious
challenge on this score in that they are structured as a group of scenes broken
up by the serving of three courses of a meal. So the inertia of a narrative
building steam is far more difficult to accomplish.
The device of having actors mingle with the
audience between scenes attempts to address the question, and in this new
production, the “table walks” were among the most potent I have witnessed. The
very first one, which occurs before the first scene while patrons are still
getting situated, was especially impactful, with the character of Larry
Thomason (Rick O’Daniel-Munger), a drunken boor, introducing a very noisy and
intrusive presence that caused some in the room, for a moment, to mistake him
for a real-life intrusion. The sum effect was tantamount to a nearly-improvised
introductory scene.
This same emphatic energy found its way onto
the stage, illustrating another answer to the question of fragmented momentum:
a little bit of overplaying goes a long way. The murder mystery dinner theatre
format benefits from playing things a little broadly, and director Craig Nolan
Highley does a good job of pushing his cast just enough to engage the audience
without undercutting the integrity of the material. It made for a lively and
laugh-out-loud funny evening.
In this instance, the murder victim happens
to be the drunken boor, and the suspects are all employees at his Five and Dime: the slatternly store manager involved in an affair with him, Moxie (Barb O’
Daniel-Munger); two young employees smitten with each other, Jimmy and Evelyn
(Jeremy Guiterrez and Makayla Staudenheimer); the fastidious store accountant,
“Perfect” Paxton (Robert Thompson); and the painfully awkward old-maid former
store manager now demoted to sales clerk, Martha (Erica Goldsmith). A dedicated
police detective also enters the scene to investigate (Alphaeus Green, Jr.).
Besides the raucous Mr. O’Daniel-Munger, two
others in the tight ensemble deserve mention: Mr. Thompson’s supercilious turn
as Paxton; and Erica Goldsmith, effectively burying her usually charismatic
presence as Martha. Each delivers comic gold revisiting sturdy sketch comedy
stereotypes.
The one quibble is that the story supposedly
takes place in the 1940s, yet the period never is really made manifest beyond
a few costume choices and the fact that Five and Dimes are pretty much extinct
in this day and age. In all honesty, I feel like the performance overcomes any
serious objection on this score.
The meal was tasty, the laughs were
plentiful, and the mystery was cleverly accomplished in Teresa Wentzel’s
script – too clever for me, anyway, but then, I never solve these things. Maybe
you will have better luck.
Editor’s Note: WhoDunnit roles are double-cast to accommodate their
particular schedule, and some actors mentioned here may not be appearing when
you attend.
Murder at the Five and Dime
Saturdays, May 11-June 22
Seating at 6:30 p.m. / Show
starts at 7 p.m.
WhoDunnit Murder Mystery
Theatre
Performing at the Hyatt
Downtown
320 West Jefferson Street
Louisville, KY 40202
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