Driftwood’s ‘Body’ another terrific production
Published 9:17 pm Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Driftwood’s program and bio identifies her as Mabel Ima Busybody playing herself in “Exit The Body” by Fred Carmichael. The bio describes her as descended from “a long line of distinguished telephone operators, most famously her twin aunts, Ima Hear and Ima Connectin,” and the character she plays is a telephone operator.
The question is: fact or fiction, put on or get real, who is Mabel Ima Busybody?
Think about it. How likely is it that an actress and her character have the same last name, same employment histories, same everything? Who’s kidding whom? Is anyone kidding anybody? What’s up?
That, dear friends, is but one of an infinite number of facets to this mind-boggling, laugh-a-minute murder mystery/farce. It is terrific.
Director, Alyson Soma, cracks the whip over this three-ring circus of clowns converging at a time-share somewhere in New England, 1960s.
The hook: the time-share is the very spot where a murdered thief stashed stolen diamonds.
The catch that doesn’t release: the dead thief’s killer accomplices are diamond-hungry and on the prowl among unwary time-share holders. Mischief, thou art afoot.
A New Yorker with a big mouth, sharp tongue and no tact. What better guarantee is there for someone to shake up an already tense situation? Laura Kessler fills the bill up to full. Kessler a can’t miss.
Who’s better than a mystery writer to detect in a whodunit? Debbie Fetherston sees all, knows all and tells all in a way that breaks you up after she puts things together. See and believe. I cracked up.
A slow-talking, slow-moving, small-town, goofball of a sheriff might be a cliché. But Terrence Boyd’s is likeable and funny. He makes it work.
David Bailey has a way with ladies, a real charmer.
BriAnne Green is Bailey’s lady, married to him and her other husband. What a hoot watching too much woman for one man at a time.
Kelsey Jacobs could slow it down some. She’s believable enough as the hillbilly girlfriend to a low class thug (Nik Doner) but hard to follow when she talks.
And Laura Crouch, Christian T. Ver and Robert Rapp round out the cast as realtor; the not so dead, dead body; and the mystery writer’s husband.
This is community theater having a good time spoofing murder mysteries. It’s light and clever; a reliable way to forget your troubles for a few hours. I had fun.
Reactions? Comments? Email Dale Burrows at entopinion@heraldnet.com or grayghost7@comcast.net.
