“Murder on the Nile”

Recommended *** Many of you know that I have found a cute little theater in Glenview that is neglected by many of the reviewers. The Oil Lamp Theater , located in what might be called “downtown” Glenview, is a true “storefront” where fewer than 70 people can enjoy live theater, some great snacks and if they bring their own wine ( They are a BYOB, no cost to uncork) a libation or two. Keith Gerth and his staff make you feel right at home from the doorman, the snacks and the very friendly atmosphere. You feel more like a friend or relative rather than a patron. This sure helps the experience.

The theater itself is very intimate so one feels very close to the actors. What I find amazing is that they are able to create sets that are solid and realistic in appearance on what must be a smaller budget than the larger theaters in town. This play, Agatha Christie’s “Murder on the Nile” takes place on a paddle steamer that is on the Nile river between Shellal and Wadi Halfa. The year is 1947 and it is the month of June. This is a three act play ( act two has two scenes) and in total runs pretty close to  2 hours and thirty minutes including two ten minute intermissions ( for additional snacks and libations).

The story is about a group of people who are boarding the steamer, for different reasons of course. The first to arrive are Miss Ffoliot-ffoulkes ( Gina Phillips) and her neice, Christina ( a charming character played charmingly by Katarina Vandlik) who is treated as more of a servant than a relative. Second to arrive is Dr. Bessner ( Bill Chamberlain), followed by Mr. Smith (Scott Myers plays this loner to perfection) who represents a sort of “mystery man” as well as adding some of the comic touches.  Canon Pennefather (deftly handled by Peter Brian Kelly) comes on board . He is a man of the cloth who has some motives of his own for being on the trip.

There has just been a wedding and the happy couple are on board to start their honeymoon. Kay (  Kalika Rose) an heiress has married the handsome Simon Mostyn ( Jeremy Schaye) who is a “taker” of sorts and left his girlfriend (Jacqueline ( a solid performance by Sarah-Lucy Hill) who was Kay’s best friend. See! There are already complications and I have not truly gotten into the entire story. The other cast members are Ken Rubenstein as Captain McNaught, the ship’s captain,Manny Sevilla as the ship steward and Mackenzie Williams as Louise ( maid to  Kay).

There are stories that link some of the characters and there are some shots fired. Not wanting to give away the story, I will tell you so you are prepared that there will be some characters shot and even some who die. The tale woven by Ms Christie, as always, will come out in the final minutes of the story and for many they will think that it ended just right. Others may want the ending to be different for some of the characters ( they might be right in today’s world) but remember this was 1947 and the world has not progressed to what we have today.

Directed by Gerth on this very intimate stage, he is able to make it work. There is never a crowd scene despite having such a large cast and the lighting ( David Miller)  and props and set pieces are divine. In this theater I think most of this is handled by Gerth himself with his stage manager, Kaitlyn Salemi and production assistant ( Ellen Marcu). The set and props are rearranged between each scene and act and there is never an item missing on the stage at Oil Lamp. Bravo.

For this show they have added some Violence design and credit goes to  R & D Choreography who specialize in doing these things. It would be nice if someone could teach the non-smokers to hold a cigarette so it looks natural. Often, when they are using a cigarette or cigar to help their character or situation, they blow it! The audience starts looking at them asking “have they ever held a smoke before?”. Just because a script calls for lighting a cigarette, does the play have to have one? Would a non-smoking audience care if there were no smoking characters in a play? Maybe, it is time to try this.

The production moves well and the actors work very hard to pull off a murder-mystery/Whudunit. There are many newcomers to the Oil Lamp stage and also some who are new to our Chicago theater scene. Welcome! I am sure we will be seeing more of these actors in the future.

“Murder on the Nile” will continue at Oil Lamp Theater thru November 10th

Price: $25-$40

Show Type: Drama

Box Office: 847-834-0738

www.oillamptheater.org

The theater is located at 1723 West Glenview Road ( just west of Waukegan Road) in Glenview with lots of free parking.

To see what others are saying, visit www.theatreinchicago.com, go to Review Round-Up and click at “Murder on the Nile”.