EVERETT — Village Theatre employs fine actors.
The theater’s orchestra, sets, costumes, lighting, sound, choreography and direction are always top notch.
When the show itself is not the best, however, all of the above can’t a guarantee the musical will rise above its shortcomings.
Fortunately, Village pulls it off.
“No Way to Treat a Lady” is a (kinda) comic (sorta) thriller about a serial killer and the detective pursuing him. It opens May 1 at the Everett Performing Arts Center.
Written and composed by Douglas J. Cohen and based on the Boston Strangler-inspired novel by William Goldman, the musical is a bit too long. Its songs are repetitive and mostly forgettable.
But don’t let this note discourage, because you will be impressed by the staging and the acting.
The musical was one of the first workshop productions in the Village Originals program in the 1990s, said director Steve Tomkins.
Instead of going right to Village’s main stage lineup, however, Cohen’s work got the green light for an off-Broadway production. The run was short, but it was nominated for some awards.
Now “No Way to Treat a Lady” is back on the Village stage.
Set in New York City in the early 1960s, the story involves a police detective who is living at home with his mother.
On the other side of Manhattan, the two-bit actor son of a recently deceased Broadway actress is trying to figure out how to get on the front page of the New York Times and win the recognition that eluded him during his famous mother’s life.
He decides to do this by donning costumes and singing his way into the hearts of various women, who he then strangles.
That’s no way to treat a lady, and it catches the attention of the detective, who eventually gets regular phone calls from the killer. The cop is somewhat distracted by a new lady in his life, a beautiful socialite and neighbor of one of the murder victims. And then the killer threatens the girlfriend.
Dane Stokinger, a Village and 5th Avenue Theatre veteran, does a good job in the role of Detective Brummell, a smart, rumpled, obliviously sexy man whose mommy issue is that he can’t compare to his doctor brother.
His mother Flora is played by longtime, well-known Seattle actor Jayne Muirhead, who delightfully gets the Jewish mother thing down just right.
Brummell’s girlfriend Sarah Stone is portrayed by the talented and beautiful Jessica Skerritt (yes, she is the niece of actor Tom Skerritt) who was the mother in “A Christmas Story” in December at the 5th Avenue.
Nick DeSantis, who did a nice job as Thenardier in Village’s “Les Miserables” last season, is funny as the washed-up actor/killer Kit Gill, who, like Brummell, struggles with lack of praise from his mother.
Character actor Bobbi Kotula (Mama Brice in last season’s “Funny Girl”) is fabulous in her work as Kit’s mother Alexandra, as well as the three women he murders.
Also worth noting in this show are scenic and lighting designers Bill Forrester and Aaron Copp, as well as music director R.J. Tancioco and costume designer Melanie Taylor Burgess. The sets have an early 1960s pop art feel, the lighting is what director Tomkins calls “atmospheric,” the pit orchestra is great and one can’t wait to see what sort of haute couture Sarah will be wearing next, much of it reminiscent of Jackie Kennedy’s outfits from that era.
Tomkins, Village’s longtime artistic director who most recently directed “Mary Poppins,” also has a great crew who never miss a beat or a cue.
It’s a show worth seeing, thanks to all of the above.
Gale Fiege: 425-339-3427; gfiege@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @galefiege.
If you go
Village Theatre’s “No Way to Treat a Lady” runs May 1-24 at the Everett Performing Arts Center, 2710 Wetmore Ave. Performances at 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays, 8 p.m. Fridays, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturdays and 2 and 7 p.m. Sundays. A special matinee also is scheduled on May 21. For ticket information go to villagetheatre.org or call the box office at 425-257-8600.
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