“Something’s Afoot”

Highly Recommended **** Everyone loves a good murder mystery! At least, that is what I have heard over the years. Add to this , a musical, and you have the makings for an enjoyable theatre experience! Thanks to Wayne Mell and Wendy Kaplan who bring live theater to downtown Skokie, you can now enjoy a story with music that you will truly enjoy. What I like most about some of the choices that MadKap Productions brings to the Skokie Theatre is the mix of plays. Musicals, drama, comedy- they do it all and their current production, “Something’s Afoot” is a dynamic fast moving farcical musical with a cast that was hand-picked to perfection.

The book, music an dlyrics were written by James McDonald, David Vos and Robert Gerlach ( with additional music by Ed Linderman). It is a spoof on Agatha Christie’s “And Then There were none” ( I loved the original film) and has been around since the 1970’s  (Broadway in 1976). It is an adorable piece that is seldom done, so you will have little to compare it to, but no need to- just enjoy and laugh.

Sharpley directed by Wayne Mell on a set designed by Pat Henderson there are some flaws in the pulling off of serval of the neat effects, but so few compared to the number of specials, It made no difference. The story is pretty simple. A group of people have been invited to the lake estate of Lord Dudley Rancour. The wealthy lord is found dead , as well as other employees and guests ,it becomes race around the clock to find out who the murderer is. The characters are unique and all accepted the invitations not knowing why they were there. During the 1 hour and 48 minutes with a 15 minute intermission, we will all see the answers unfold- you will be surprised for sure!

Let me tell you about some of the characters in this “whodunit”. First of all we have Clive, the Butler (Peter G. Leondedis) who we find out early is innocent- yes, in this story, “the butler did not do it”. The handyman Flint is played by Andrew Buel. He is a very tall, towering young man who looks like he could be the bad guy, but we find out that he is just a very tall worker. Heidi Hansfield plays the new maid, Lettie and is adorable. She has her accent just right and when she and Buel do their number “Dinghy” in the second act, you will find it a delight.

Nigel ( Sean Michael Barrett is hysterical and in spite of not being able to reach some of the notes makes this character fun), is hoping that his Uncle’s death will bring him great fortune, Lady maney-Prow, who at one time was married Lord Rancour is played to perfection by Gretchen Wood Kimmeth and young Hope ( an adorable Mary Margaret McCormick) are very talented singers and do some clever dances as well ( the choreography is by Marianne L. Brown). Col. Gillweather ( Dennis Schnell) is quite the soldier and we learn that at one time he had an encounter with another guest. Dr. Grayburn ( Craig Zeller) is on hand to declare who is alive and who is dead, until he cannot and Geoffrey ( Joe Lewis) is a young man who just happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Or is he?

Last , but not least, is Miss Tween ( an astounding portrayal by Debra Criche Mell) who takes over the mysterious happenings just like one might expect in an Agatha Christie book or an episode of “Murder She Wrote”, as Angela Landsbury. She was adorable. The songs in this musical are story related so no one will be humming them on the way out, but you will remember them. “Carry On” done by the three main ladies (Hope, Tweed and Prowe),”Suspicious” where each character shows why they might be the killer, to end the first act and “The Legal heir” a quite funny number that has Barrett flitting about the stage.

If you are looking for some true pleasure and a way to get back too the theater, this is one for the entire family. I was at an afternoon show and the theater was filled with seniors who had great smiles and many laughs from this stellar cast. If you need to get out, the Skokie Theatre is the place to go.

“Something’s Afoot” will continue at The Skokie Theatre located at 7924 Lincoln Avenue in Skokie thru April 30th with performances:

Fridays 7:30 p.m.

Saturdays  7:30 p.m.

Sundays  3 p.m.

To order tickets ( $45 and seniors and students $38) visit www.skokietheatre.org or call 847-677-7761

To see what others are saying, visit www.theatreinchicago.com, go to Review Round-Up and click at “Something’s Afoot”.

Here I am seated near some of the residents from Park Plaza. The audience was pretty well filled for a Wednesday afternoon.