REVIEW: Talented Cast gives the clunky “Rehearsal For Murder” a glow-up
Photos by Laura Darling
“[Director Ken Kasch] invests just enough gravitas into the situation, making you believe the story is far more consequential than it is.”
Confetti Stage is taking a sharp right turn with their production of the backstage hugger mugger Rehearsal For Murder by D.D. Brooke. This iconoclastic theatre group whose schedules are seasoned with college theatre program’s greatest hits (Beckett, Brecht, Pirandello & Sartre) have chosen a community theatre staple which was adapted for the stage from a made for television movie.
Stage Director Alex Dennison has recruited his cast and crew from his most recent Broadway failure to reunite a year after the star of that venture, his fiancé Monica Welles, killed herself on Opening Night. Sure, the reviews weren’t great but c’mon!
It is a classic whodunnit gambit to get everyone in the same room – “The reason why I’ve called you all here today…” – which simultaneously raises the audience’s suspicions while ostensibly eliminating characters from being people of interest. As the play puts it, “You take the audience and lead them by the hand in the wrong direction.” This usually occurs in the last act of a mystery. In this case, it comprises ¾ of the play.
Ken Kasch as the director presides over the evening masterfully. He invests just enough gravitas into the situation, making you believe the story is far more consequential than it is. It is not easy at all and he accomplishes it effortlessly.
Most every actor in the production is better than the material. It is not a very good play, unfortunately. I can see fans of the mystery thriller (there was a very good house for a Sunday matinee) playing along with the process of elimination and guessing who it might be but I’m afraid I had no interest at all.
I could never suspend my disbelief enough to ignore the clunky lines or less-than-convincing theatre setting. There is hardly anything in the presentation of what goes on backstage at a Broadway play that rings true.
There’s a joke about the bad coffee served by a diner outside the theatre and the coffee is so bad, it is variously described as tasting like Swiss cheese, tuna fish and a western omelette. I’ve had bad coffee but I just don’t believe anyone, anywhere ever described a coffee as tasting like one of those three foods.
The Capital Region is packed with talented actors and so is this cast. Ella McGrail with a big honking Bronx voice brightened the day significantly with her improv selling 50/50 tickets at intermission. Victoria Nieves has a nice bit as the producer (and only non actor suspect) Bella Lamb delivering a dead monotone reading of the script when she is questioned. Emily Crist always makes a strong impression and that’s no exception here. It was also a pleasure to see Brooke Stanley, Marissa Lounello, Tobias Martin and Campbell Higle onstage for the first time and I look forward to seeing them in a theatre again soon.
Everyone does the best they can; Laura Darling has some striking lighting effects, Sean Baldwin (who does double duty as sound designer as he is in the cast as well) has some romantic and intriguing soundscapes and first time director Vincent James acquits himself very well. He has a great feel for rising tension, creates stage pictures that tell a story and has a helluva final image. I’m looking forward to his work on a better play.
Confetti Stage performs on the fourth floor of the Albany Masonic Temple on Corning Place directly behind City Hall and if you have never seen their work, this is not a terrible introduction to the company. While the mystery onstage is negligible, the excitement and delight of ascending this historic building’s 1896 great staircase and discovering this secret society of thespians thriving in their company and purpose of pursuing their bliss on the fourth floor is palpable.
Rehearsal For Murder presented by Confetti Stage at Albany Masonic Temple runs through 3/9.
Tickets may be purchased at the door, online at https://confettistage.org/buy-tickets/, or by calling (518) 334-9132.
