Murder to Death- Empress Theatre
Direction:
The director for this production was Stephanie Johnson. She made sure to assemble a production team that worked well together. Johnson had a clear vision, and made sure to let her team know what she wanted. All parts of the show flowed together because of her clear direction. She made sure that from whatever side you were on you could see some of the action of the show. Johnson made sure to play to all comedic moments and had the audience laughing throughout the night.
Performances:
This show would not have been able to be as fun as it was without the cast being able to play off of each other. I am going to highlight a few of my favorite performances.
Mildred was played by Diana Sorensen. Sorensen played the lady of the house as someone who is proper, but clueless of some of the shenanigans in the house. She played well into a surprising plot line, that I won't give away her in this review.
(Photo credit: Sunshine Studios Photography)
Bunting was played by J.D. Robison. Robinson played Bunting as dumb and clueless. As a result he had some of the funniest moments in the show. Drunk Bunting was also just as funny as clueless Bunting.
Colonel Craddock was played by Scott Sorensen. He had a strong accent that helped establish his character right away. Sorensen vibed Colonel Mustard, which set his character for a path for a murder mystery show.
Margaret Craddock was played by Catherine Bohman. I loved her accent. From the moment she stepped on stage she had a strong character. Any time she rolled her eyes she had the audience laughing. When she got angry it made me laugh because it sounded identical to Mrs. Weasley in Harry Potter when she sent the Howler to Ron. (I LOVED this.)
Elizabeth Hartley-Trumpington was played by Catheryn Guzzwell. Guzzwell played Elizabeth as excitable and erotic at times. She was good at making cutting remarks, which added to the humor of the show. In act 2 her character does something really different and she played that change well and believable.
Inspector Pratt was played by Paul Gibbs. From the moment he stepped on stage, his character was well defined. Gibbs brought up the whole energy of the show with his energy and enthusiasm. He projected his voice well. When he made sound effects of the bullet "passing through" it brought a wonderful comedic moment to the stage. Him also copying Pierre's accent was also a delightful comedic moment.
(Photo credit: Beth Bruner)
Design:
The set was designed by Hutch Jorgensen & family and was painted by Marie Roe. The set was simple, but effective. I was delighted to see how the furniture and the wall color choice went together to add a cohesive look to the stage. Nothing felt out of place and worked for what was needed for the blocking.
A fun thing about the show is that the cast did their own costumes. All costumes looked good and worked together and fit within the color scheme of the set. Some of my favorite costumes were Margaret's dress in act 1, all of the Colonel's costumes, Bunting's outfit, and Mildred's green dress.
Props were done by the director and the stage manager. They made sure that the props looked good together and fit within the time period. When it came to the murder weapon they chose to use a plastic gun with a trigger that doesn't move. Being someone that has propped shows before I knew exactly why they would chose to use a plastic gun. (Using weapons that are fake help give the audience confidence that the actors on stage are safe.)
Final Impressions:
Being one where the Empress is just around the corner from my house, the Empress is one of my favorite places to go see a show. I was left guessing until the final reveal to who the murderer was. There was one swear in the show, just in case you choose to bring your little ones. Maybe one of these days I'll meet you at the Empress!
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