A Whodunnit IN a Whodunnit? Drop Dead at the Kelsey Theatre was a Show to Die For!

by M. Smith

There is always a certain charm that comes with a play that is painfully aware of itself and its shenanigans. A piece that calls out its own idiosyncrasies is one that promises a night of fun and entertainment. Drop Dead! by Billy Van Zandt and Jane Milmore at the Kelsey Theatre (through Yardley Players) delivered just that in their fascinating rendition of this piece. This play is one that opens on a theatre troupe’s bad production of a murder mystery, but things are going horribly wrong and someone dies on set (both in the fake play and in the troupe)!!!! I had the privilege of being able to attend this production on its closing night, so please live this experience to the fullest vicariously through this review. In a The Play That Goes Wrong style of writing, the show contains schticks and bits that left audiences laughing and always on the lookout  for the next mishap to occur. Now…add a little splash of murder and you now get Clue into the mix as well to craft a whodunnit inside a whodunnit. 

With a whimsical play comes a fantastic production team, and the production team for this show was nothing short of just that! Liz Wurtz (Director) and Marge Swider (Producer) succeeded in navigating the maze that was the style of the production, and created an experience that was a thrill. This was accentuated beautifully by the hard work of the phenomenal design team consisting of Shawn Simmons (Set Designer), Anthony Wurtz (Costume Designer), M Kitty Getlik (Lighting Designer), and Daniel Adamy (Sound Designer). Simmons’ truly brought the feel of the space to the forefront of the production as the estate-like set design (with comical additions such as painted on furniture that actors interacted with) brought the space to life. In conjunction with a great set, Getlik and Adamy’s respective lighting and sound design coalesced into a seamless experience that let the big moments shine on the stage! Furthermore, nothing helps to further bolster the design work like a costume that fits the essential characteristics of one’s character. Wurtz’s costume design choices helped to define the characters in who they are both on the stage and off. One of these said characters is Brent Reynolds (played by John Ueng McHale) who wears a very high-class presenting coat, which elegantly fit the character McHale was playing in the “fake play” as well as the world of the theatre troupe itself. Finally, a show like this is impossible to be successful without a wonderful stage manager, and Zhi Sharpe (Stage Manager) was no exception! Sharpe helped to bring this piece into a cohesive, smooth production with no mishaps (at least unintentional ones that is). Overall, this production team is one that should be very proud of itself for the work that they put into this production.

Now as we move into the cast of actors to make this show happen, we first move to the “production team” of the theatre troupe, whose characterizations and physicality captured the audience’s attention from the start.  We begin with our director Victor Le Pewe (Phillip Rieschick), a down on his luck director who is trying to make this “production” his big comeback. Rieschick brought this over the top nature to their performance in hilarious ways that kept me laughing in my seat. We see the pressure on Le Pewe to succeed through the producer P.G. Banks (Barry Leonard). In their role, Leonard brought the grating and vile nature of the character to the forefront of the production. Our next key character of the production team is the stage manager, Phillip (Keegan McDonald) who runs (?) the production from the start of the show. McDonald brought great dry humor into their performance accompanied by a seeming obsession with Le Pewe that kept the audience laughing. Finally, things are thrown even more out of hand when the playwright himself, Alabama Miller (JR Hazelton)comes into the fray to stop his “masterpiece” from being ruined. Hazelton brought a wonderful unhinged take on the character to this production, and drew the audience's attention whenever he was on the stage! This production team in the fake play truly brought a chaos and comedy that reflected the extreme ends of a production team that added to the unexpected nature of this production.

Finally, we have the actors of the theatre troupe, whose choices and bits kept the audiences wanting more in every moment they were in the limelight! We begin with Brent Reynolds (John Ueng McHale), an actor who is obsessed with acting to the utmost degree as well as proving that he is more professional than the rest of the troupe. McHale brought the commitment to their character’s bits in every moment (for example, every time Reynolds would mention snow, there would be an immediate aside that McHale would deliver excellently). Reynold’s counterpart, Mona Monet (Dara Lewis) brought this same energy, but less of the professionalism. Lewis brought this character to life that held a grating sort of delivery and finesse that made Monet stand out as a cast member. Furthermore, we have Candy Apples (Val Kluge) who brings their entitled and ditsy nature to the troupe as they have their in with P.G. Banks. Kluge’s characterization of Candy Apples was comical and kept the audience laughing throughout. We also have Constance Crawford (Laurie Hardy), who is an older woman in the troupe that just cannot catch a break. Whether it is missing their cues (written in the script) or overall choices, Hardy brought well thought timing and delivery into their role. This same delivery was seen through Chaz (Joey Poliziano), who plays the butler in the fake play. The moment that most stuck in Poliziano’s performance was when he took on a French accent for Act II, showing the dedication to the hilarious bits and skits that their character has. We round off the cast with Dick Scorsese (Justin Mancini), whose main claim to fame for the troupe is that his brother Martin is coming to see the show. Mancini brought great physical comedy to his portrayal of Scorsese and his bits as the detective were truly wonderful! With such a great cast, truly there is nothing that can go wrong for this troupe right? WRONG! As we know, there is a gasp murder that occurs during the run of the show that we see everyone take on different roles and truly bring their characters to life at the truly chaotic end to this production.

All in all, this was a great production filled with talented actors and designers who should all be extremely proud of the work that they have completed with this production. From a stunning design to wonderful acting, Drop Dead! at the Kelsey Theatre through Yardley Players was a hoot and a holler! I was sitting in my seat laughing throughout the production, and would gladly see this talented group of people perform this production again! Unfortunately, the run of this production has already ended but definitely check out Yardley Players at: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100067128338766 and Kelsey Theatre at: https://kelsey.mccc.edu/index.shtml