Word: deathtraps
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LAST SATURDAY'S production of Deathtrap destroyed a Lowell House dining hall chair. In the middle of the first act, fading playwright Sidney Bruhl strangles a young admirer who has written a better play than Bruhl ever could. Dramatic realism aside, his attack was so savage that the chair smashed to the floor as the two struggled around the stage...
...good murder mystery the audience should never quite know who murdered whom. But Deathtrap's Russian doll of a plot, who did the killing is sickeningly obvious: what isn't so clear is whom they have murdered. Bruhl, one killer, is not only tormented by his failure of the last few years; he is also experiencing a sort of mid-life self-awareness. Upon receiving the young Clifford Anderson's play in the mail. Bruhl laments his writer's block and starts to assess his chances of bringing his art to life by being able to do Anderson...
...small cozy feel is an asset; all the action takes place in the one room. Bruhl's study, and the actors move well on the dining hall stage. Lowell House's choice of Deathtrap was a good one. The local production surpasses the Hollywood version which had trouble trying to enlarge the scope of the action. The only slight drawback is that because dead people tend to lie on the floor, people sitting in the back sometimes have trouble seeing what they are doing...
...only five characters and five murders has a problem surviving anything but a bloody depressing finale. Levin provides an out; it is played well, adding a twist to make sure the audience leaves laughing and able to speculate on what happens next. That mixture of laughter and uncertainty make Deathtrap audiences easy prey...
...month run of Noel Coward's Present Laughter; and Frank Langella missed 28 performances during his half year in Amadeus. On any given night, several of the felines in Cats may be substitutes. By contrast, the indestructible Marian Seldes was never out once during 1,793 performances of Deathtrap, and except for vacations, those three iron ladies, Lauren Bacall, Raquel Welch and Debbie Reynolds, have danced their way through every matinee and evening of Woman of the Year...