...And There Was This One at The REP!

By Mike Logothetis
Theater reviewer Mike Logothetis grew up in North Wilmington, performing in school and local theater productions. He lives in Newark, but you can find him wherever the arts are good.

Adapted for the stage by the “Queen of Crime” herself, this famous Agatha Christie murder mystery deftly weaves suspicion and intrigue to deliver a shocking tale of suspense. The University of Delaware’s Resident Ensemble Players (REP) asks the audience to put on its thinking caps to solve a doozy of a whodunnit and delivers a masterpiece with And Then There Were None..

The REP's production of Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None.
Photo by Evan Krape.

Ten strangers gather on a secluded island off the coast of Devon, England on a stormy night. A mysterious host somehow knows everyone’s secrets, but is nowhere to be found. He/she orchestrates the playing a chilling recording accusing each guest of a terrible crime. As time goes by, and characters fall away one-by-one to the rhymes in “Ten Little Soldier Boys,” it is clear that the survivors can trust no one. With no way to escape and a killer among them, tension rises as they attempt to uncover the identity of the murderer before none are left to tell the tale.

Will anyone survive this ultimate passing of judgement? Francis Bacon wrote that “revenge is a kind of wild justice” and that sentiment is personified on the Thompson Theatre stage. The harmony within the acting troupe is palpable from the start, as the characters figure out who to trust and who to suspect. Some players arrive with bombast and confidence, while others are quiet and slightly leery of the situation. It’s a masterful intertwining of stage personalities.

Director Charles Fee keeps the excellent ensemble humming at a tight pace. It’s not too fast to follow and never slows enough to curb the momentum of the thriller. The set design by Rick Martin and Russell Metheny is impressive, somewhat modern, and foreboding. The simple architectural lines don’t convey the twisted plot within the walls. Kudos to Light Designer Cat Wilson and Sound Designer Eileen Smitheimer for quality in their endeavors.

The cast, in alphabetical order, is: Hassan El-Amin (Dr. Armstrong), Patrick Barrett (Fred Naracott), Lee E. Ernst (William Blore), Michael Gotch (Anthony Marston), Elizabeth Heflin (Mrs. Rogers), Mic Matarrese (Philip Lombard), Erin Partin (Vera Claythorne), Stephen Pelinski (Sir Lawrence Wargrave), Kathleen Pirkl Tague (Emily Brent), Steve Tague (Gen. Mackenzie), and M.A. Taylor (Rogers).

The audience was rapt from the get-go, and there were audible gasps and moans when bodies were discovered or certain deaths occurred on stage. The performance I attended rewarded the blood, death, and tears with a deserved standing ovation. 

“Wizard!” – Anthony Marston

Performances of And Then There Were None run Thursdays through Sundays until November 16. Informal cast talkbacks take place following the evening performances on Thursday, November 6 and Friday, November 14. Two “Prologues” occur on Saturday, November 8 and Sunday, November 16. Tickets prices range from $20-43 (+fees) with discounts available for students, seniors, and University of Delaware faculty and staff. 

Tickets can be purchased online at www.rep.udel.edu; by contacting the REP box office at 302.831.2204; or visiting in person at 110 Orchard Road Tuesdays through Fridays from 12:00pm to 5:00pm. Run time is approximately 2 hours and 45 minutes with two 10-minute intermissions. (The time flies by.)

The Thompson Theatre at the Roselle Center for the Arts is located on the University of Delaware’s Newark campus and is ADA-compliant. It is equipped with a hearing loop system, which works with hearing aid t-coils, cochlear implants, and in-house hearing devices. Wheelchair and other seating requests can be made prior to the performance by calling 302.831.2204 or emailing cfa-boxoffice@udel.edu.

Content and Trigger Warnings: This play includes themes and depictions of murder, manslaughter, and suicide. Production Warnings: This production includes gun shots, theatrical fog, and strobe lights.

“Stay thirsty.” – Philip Lombard

Giving Second Samuel a First-Class Rating

By Mike Logothetis
Theater reviewer Mike Logothetis grew up in North Wilmington, performing in school and local theater productions. He lives in Newark, but you can find him wherever the arts are good.

In the late 1940s, the sleepy hamlet of Second Samuel, Georgia is surprisingly rocked by the passing of their beloved music teacher, Miss Gertrude. The death of one sweet, old lady turns the whole town upside down and citizens begin to wonder if normalcy will ever return.

Second Samuel is a town full of good, hardworking folks that are presented with a situation no one could have ever imagined. Bernard Flat (Jeff Gudzune), an autistic young man affectionately nicknamed B Flat by his friends, introduces us to the townspeople as they move through the chores and activities of their days. B Flat acts as a narrator of sorts and moral heartbeat of the town.

At the local tavern and bait store, bartender Frisky Madison (Sam Dressler) keeps his opinionated patrons in check. Oft-drunk Manuel Dean (Fran Lazartic) and curmudgeon Mr. Mozel (Dave Hastings) cast judgements as easily as casting a line into a fishing hole. Barback US (Sedric Wills) is a black man who has to tip-toe between voicing his convictions and knowing his unfortunate station in post-war Southern life.

Set Designer David Sokolowski has split the stage in two. On the other side of the bar is a beauty salon where Omaha Madison (Lisa Osicky) and Ruby (Danielle Nelms) host gab sessions while cutting hair. Local gossip Jimmy Deeanne (Corinth Ford) spars with pragmatist and prankster Marcela Dean (Bethany Miller) over almost everything.

Everyone in both locations is mourning the loss of Miss Gertrude by telling stories of her upstanding character and generosity. That posthumous goodwill only lasts until mortuary director June Cline (Alan Albert) drops a truth bomb to end the first act.

What could Cline have said? What secrets did Miss Gertrude hold? Is her memory forever tarnished?

“She’s still Miss Gertrude,” asserts B Flat as arguments erupt around him at the bar and hair salon.

Unfortunately, B Flat is regularly dismissed as he is considered “simple.” But Second Samuel is all about simple folk wrestling with complex issues concerning the nature of a person. Doc (Dan Tucker) seems to be the first learned man to accept who Miss Gertrude was. His reasoned position adds credence to recognizing someone’s true/good character over all else.

“Just love one another,” US says in a heartful talk with B Flat. Truer words have not been spoken.

Playwright Pamela Parker once said “Second Samuel is about redemption.”

“It is about the good in people overcoming the bad; it’s about doing the right thing [even when they don’t understand],” she said.

Director Ruth K. Brown deftly conducts action between bar and salon and emotions between outrage and forgiveness. The pacing is tight and the cast chemistry is strong.

“I hope walking out the door [the audience is] thinking, ‘Those people are just like me…and I’d do the right thing too,” Parker said. “I hope so anyway. Maybe they won’t, but I hope they will.”

“I want to believe there is goodness in all of us. For me, Second Samuel keeps that hope alive.”

The two-act show runs 1 hour and 40 minutes with a 15-minute intermission.

The short run of Second Samuel is: October 23-26 inside the Delaware City Community Center located at 250 Fifth Street in Delaware City. All performances are at 8 o’clock save for the Sunday matinee at 2 pm. Tickets start at $16 with discounts for seniors, military, fire, police, and EMS affiliations. Ticket sales and information can be found at reedypoint.org and reedypoint@gmail.com. The Reedy Point Players, LTD are a non-profit 501(c)(3) certified community theatre group located in Delaware City, Delaware.

“How come some kinds of different are OK?” – B Flat

In the Game with The Girls of Summer

By Mike Logothetis
Theater reviewer Mike Logothetis grew up in North Wilmington, performing in school and local theater productions. He lives in Newark, but you can find him wherever the arts are good.

Delaware Theatre Company (DTC) continues its 'sports' theme with its second show of the season: Layon Gray’s The Girls of Summer. The play shines a light on the Red Diamonds, an all-Black female baseball team in 1946 gearing up for a game against an all-White team. While this is a work of fiction, Gray has rooted facets of his show in history. Winner of the prestigious NAACP Award for Best Play, this period drama will keep you wondering about what was, is, and could be.

The play centers around the mysterious disappearance of Red Diamonds manager Odessa Hicks (Kim Monroe), who vanishes just before an exhibition game that could have been a personal and professional triumph. Monroe’s portrayal of Coach Hicks is unflinching – she never seems to give an inch…until she does. She is sole caretaker for her cheerful but slow-witted daughter Lucy (Luisa Turner) and looms large over all who enter her orbit.

The cast of The Girls of Summer at DTC. Photo by Matt Urban.

The women who make up the team don’t take to their coach’s highly critical methods. Piper (Kenisha Pinckney) complains enough to earn the others a night session of running laps in the rain. Coby Rae (Maya Naasira Thompson) left a husband and child behind to pursue her baseball dream, but is a clubhouse peacemaker. New Nork native Mattie (Liana April) has men on her mind as much as baseball. Jonetta (Shaakirah Nazim-Harris) is a late addition to the squad and isn’t keen on making new friends. The story does seem to lean on some familiar tropes often found in tales of this kind.

The sparkplugs were Martha Faye (Alex Bates) and Eddie (pronounced Edie and played by Shanna Lee Hill). They have funny, and larger-than-life personalities that radiated positivity to both stage and audience. “Twin sisters” Betty (ShaTerrica Hyder) and Billie (Kira Janine Bennett) are as different as can be and appear to be shadows of one another. But appearances aren’t everything.

The story unfolds through flashbacks, peeling back layers as it moves along. Gray – also the director – hops back and forth in time, utilizing the character of local reporter Peter James (Thaddeus Daniels) as a narrator to supply just enough information at any given time without ruining the mystery. Through interviews with players, James slowly uncovers truths from inside and outside the locker room. Sometimes, those truths come at a pace that slows the momentum of the show.

Sal Rendino rounds out the cast as Mr. West, a curmudgeonly baseball executive putting on the exhibition. He always seemed to be yelling, which over time felt more distracting from the scenes.

The true highlights of the show can be found in the clubhouse with the teammates dancing and telling tales without coaches or outsiders getting in the way. They bicker and chide and support and comfort. They also recognize that their big chance is here and they must stick together to succeed on the field and, perhaps, beyond.

“Don’t let anyone tell you what you can and cannot do” – Coach Odessa Hicks

The performance schedule of The Girls of Summer is: Wednesdays (2:00pm), Thursdays and Fridays (7:00pm), Saturdays (2:00 & 7:30pm except October 25 (Opening Night curtain is only at 7:30pm), and Sundays (2:00pm) through November 9. Tickets start at $47 and discounts are available. 

The show is roughly 2 hours and 20 minutes long, including one 15-minute intermission. Join DTC for Viewpoints every Wednesday in the Lobby Gallery starting 45 minutes before the start of the show. A Talkback is scheduled in the theater immediately after Thursday performances. 

Call (302)594-1100 or visit www.delawaretheatre.org to purchase tickets or for performance information. Delaware Theatre Company is located at 200 Water Street in Wilmington.

NOTE: DTC recommends this show for audience members aged 14 and up due to its racial context and mature themes.