07/04/2007

Deathtrap, a thriller in two acts
By Dolores E. Pike

The houselights dim and the stage lights go up.  The audience is transported into a comfortably furnished room that is, as later revealed, part of getaway just outside New York City in rural Connecticut. The room obviously serves as a work area as witnessed by the typewriter on the desk, or a place to relax, with its inviting couch and cozy fireplace.
But wait.  What are those objects displayed on the far wall of this room?  It seems the home's owner is a collector of knives, guns, mace, battleaxe, handcuffs and yes, even a bow and arrow. These are, in the parlance of the legal system, "instruments of crime."  And, in the parlance of the theater, the stage is set.

How these weapons are used or not used is just one part of the mystery that will unfold during the course of the evening. "Deathtrap" the latest production of the Ocean Pines Players opened last weekend and will be presented again this weekend on July 6, 7 and 8.
Making his directorial debut is Don Klein, often seen on the local stage in a variety of roles. He leads the cast of five performers from the opening dialogue through the many twists and turns of this thriller, written by playwright Ira Levin,

The plot starts out simply enough.  Sidney Bruhl (Joe Hicks) has, in the past, enjoyed considerable fame as a Broadway playwright.  Unfortunately the well, as far as his writing is concerned, has dried up and Bruhl has managed to write four flops.  He is relegated to giving writing seminars, a job he clearly detests in the way he mocks his students.  But one student, Clifford Anderson (Patrick Bayles), has written a play and sends the manuscript to Bruhl to read.  He remarks to his wife Myra (Barbara Gallagher) upon the play's distinct possibilities and what it might do for his own sagging career if he could claim to be the play's author.

As Bruhl speculates as to how he might assume authorship, Myra becomes increasingly alarmed.  Mrs. Gallagher ably develops her character's concern as she advocates the possibility of collaboration. She wants to see her husband's name on Broadway once again but not at any cost.  Still she encourages him to phone Anderson and invite him to the house.  She recognizes what a hit play could mean to the Bruhls' dwindling resources which Myra controls.  The "deathtrap" is set and the plot begins to take the many twists and turns with the revelations of characters and situations not at all as first perceived.

A play becomes a success, as "Deathtrap" has proved to be in its long run on Broadway and follow-up movie, not only because of its plot but also the depth of its characterizations.  It becomes quite evident to the audience from the opening scene that playwright Bruhl is not a likeable man.  This trait is ably demonstrated by Mr. Hicks as he mockingly reads his student's letter to Myra, his wife of 11 years.  Whereas who could not like the quirky psychic, neighbor Helga Ten Dorp (Linda Hilte), from the first moment she flies onto the stage.  With her flamboyant dress and mannerisms she tosses off a series of lines that bring lots of chuckles from the audience.  On the other hand Bruhl's lawyer, Porter Milgrim (Charlie Sorrentino), brings just the right amount of decorum as he arrives to discuss wills and such but stirs an already boiling pot with his "suspicious legal mind."

And last but not least there is the student, Clifford Anderson.  He arrives on the scene, a seemingly naïve young playwright, who becomes trapped in the $1,200 Houdini handcuffs, again causing Myra to become sorely agitated, and he then goes on to…but come and see for yourself.

Final performances of "Deathtrap" are this weekend at the Most Blessed Sacrament School auditorium on Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday matinee at 4 p.m.