Open Wardrobes

I was able to catch a few different performances this weekend, the first of which was the opening night of "The Murder Room" at Lakeshore Players. The cast included Will Vincent, who was also in The Hanging of the Greens, and so we had quite a large contingent from that cast there to cheer him on. The play is a farcical murder mystery set in England which has more in common with Abbott and Costello than Sherlock Holmes and includes mistaken identities, secret doors, gunshots and of course, a murder.


The script is well-written, but challenging from an acting standpoint as much of it is made up of snappy dialogue that requires the actors to keep things moving at a quick pace. Fortunately the cast was up to the task, including Will as Barry, the hapless American, and Barry's flighty fiancee Susan. There were points were the pacing could have been picked up a little, but based on what I saw having a few performances under their belt will tighten everything up. Joe Hendren also gave a fine performance as the somewhat clueless Constable Howard who was always a treat to watch.


The script ran a little long for the concept (no fault of the actors, of course), but the play made for a great evening of entertainment, complete with several twists and turns to keep you guessing. It runs through February 8th and I recommend it for all lovers of the mystery genre, especially if you love a show that doesn't take itself too seriously (and having written a few of those I do).