A 'Family Murder' in Vienna

Starring in Vienna Theatre Company's An Old Fashioned Family Murder are, from left, Ansley Sherwin as Clarice, Taveion Mickens as Jasper, Michelle Kritzler as Mrs. Peck, and Eddie Perez as THE Junior Detective /Photo by Kevin Lukacs  

Vienna Theatre Company's An Old Fashioned Family Murder will leave you smiling and happy, just like a mysterious comedy should, even if it involves a family murder.

Yeeks!

Director Katie Boone has fleshed out superb acting by all  six players, but no one can do it better than the arrogant and conceited Mr. Arthur Whittington (Charles Boone) spewing condescending remarks whenever he can find  opportunities to build his bullying personality.

And find opportunities a'plenty, he does.

Who cares if he's a famous author? 

Is there a body under there?  Junior Detective Peck (Eddie Perez) wants to know in Vienna Theatre Company's An Old Fashioned Family Murder/Photo by  Kevin Lukacs 

Mr. Whittington arrives at the family mansion of Colonel Claythorne on a "dark and stormy night" as thunder crashes and lightening flashes outside the windows of the fancy parlor. (Realistic crashes and lighting by Myer Kim, Ari McSherry, and Julia O'Beirne.)  

The colonel, age 93, is never seen in person but he dominates the conversation and the stage from his large portrait perched above the fireplace.

The menacing Whittington brings upsetting news for the colonel's two daughters: One of them has been cut out of their father's will!

The will!  

Oh, my! 

Which daughter?

Are you kidding?  

Whatever shall happen to me, me, me?

Glory be!  Charles Boone as Arthur Whittington in Vienna Theatre Company's An Old Fashioned Family Murder celebrates the passage of writer's block/Photo by Kevin Lukacs 

That "me, me, me" is the hilarious and wildly animated "pool boy," Jasper (Taveion Mickens) badly in need of a dictionary and he's also the fiancé of Clarice (Ansley Sherwin), the prissy and aloof daughter dressed in glamourous evening wear, accompanied always by a dangling cigarette.  (Costuming by Juliana Confrancesco and Farrell Hartigan.)

Priggish sister Dottie (Samantha Mitchell) is a bookworm who wears all black neck to knees and who kissed Mr. Whittington on his cheek (?) and what did that mean?  (Mitchell's hesitancy and speech pauses endear her to the audience.) 

Enter the kindly, maybe doddering Mrs. Peck (Michelle Kritzler) who knows a thing or two about murders (her dead husband was a chief detective) and she's got some learnin' to do for this crowd, including that for her son, junior detective Peck (Eddie Perez) whom she summons to help solve the murder of ...?

The mother and son duo make quite the chitchat, but wait...Mrs. Peck is stuffing a piece of paper inside her dress?  Huh?

And, what's this? Sigmund Freud? Mrs. Peck aims to take him down a peg or two.

It’s always fun to pick out whodunnit and this one is not easy.  You should try it and see.  I never get them right.

Unseen cast members are Kim Paul, the radio announcer, and Shelby Kaplan who sings.

Charles Boone not only acts but he designed the set, an elegant, red-velveted walled parlor, just as you'd expect for Joe DiPietro's 1940s show, DiPietro, a two-time Tony Award winner.  

Helping stage the Murder are Kevin Lukacs, producer; Anna Mae Murphy and Suellen Evans, stage managers; Michelle Lukacs, lead set painter, and more of Katie Boone as properties designer and helper for her husband with set dressing.

What: An Old Fashioned Family Murder

When: 7:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday, and 2 p.m., Sunday through Nov. 1.

Where: Vienna Theatre Company at the Vienna Community Center, 120 Cherry St. SE, Vienna, VA 22180

How much: Tickets are $16. Order online at Vienna, VA – WebTrac Ticket Search (myvscloud.com), or buy, if available, at the community center box office.

Duration: About 90 minutes plus an intermission.

Audience:  Recommended for ages 10 and up.

For more information: vtcshows@yahoo.com.

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Shakespeare Theatre's 'Babbitt,' a great escape

Mara Davi and Matthew Broderick dance in Shakespeare Theatre Company's Babbitt/Teresa Castracane, photo

ZOWIE!!  It’s a great one!  (Or, would that be "zounds"?) 

That would be sounds from Shakespeare Theatre Company's Babbitt with celebrity Matthew Broderick, known throughout the world for Ferris Bueller's Day Off...and many more productions.

The place is Zenith, Middle America and the time and plot closely follow the 1922 novel of the same name by Sinclair Lewis who pokes fun at Middle America and its cheerless, hypocritical ways, with focus on its main character, George Babbitt. The book helped earn Lewis the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1930, but surprisingly, only two films have been made of the book, in 1924 and 1934.

Nehal Joshi and Matthew Broderick take time for a camping trip in Shakespeare Theatre Company's Babbitt/Teresa Castracane, photo

Babbitt's modern day rendition by writer Joe DiPietro is a magnificent experience with hilarious lines Broderick delivers in deadpan fashion and enrich the show.

He's practically perfect for the role. And that goes for his fellow "storytellers" who perform multiple roles and assist in disclosing Babbitt's existence in this tale of mediocrity.

Ann Harada is his wife, a natural complement to the homebody until she goes all independent and starts strutting around, as if she desired something more than just being a spouse.

Judy Kaye's Broadway experience is instrumental in her Babbitt success as secretary, woman of the rich, and more. Ali Stroker is the annoying, cloying but effective daughter.  Other actors, Nehal Joshi, Matt McGrath, and Chris Myers as the energetic son advance the show and help birth a Babbitt who discovers life is more than humdrum and repetition when he lets his mind (and body) go exploring and pick up steam, so to speak.

The woman of Babbitt's dreams is Mara Davi, the play's dance captain.

The stage is a work of art (by Walt Spangler with lighting by Cha See): A modern, minimalist library on two floors, crisp and cool, rather like peering inside a Chinese refrigerator, but requiring little time to warm up the cast.

But, oh my! There's a somewhat of a hellish "merry-go-round" requiring fancy, quick moves by the cast to hop on and off the inner circulating stage, but precision timing and maneuvering made it appear, of course, "easy to do" when a quick costume addition or subtraction made a fast dash off-stage  necessary to begin a new scene.

From a serious novel, DiPietro has spun a fun yet superficial yarn, to pause for self-reflection and ponder existence:  Are we slaves to conformity? Could we benefit from "more spice"? From change? 

Yes! I'll buy that! Bring it on and infuse my life with more laughs, too, while you're at it.

When Babbitt “gets down,” he gets down. 

The play premiered in La Jolla, CA one year ago. 

Other members of the artistic team: Christopher Ashley, director; Stephen Buescher, choreographer; Linda Cho, costumes;  Leon Rothenberg, sound; Mark Bennett and Wayne Barker, original music; Charles G. LaPointe, wigs and hair.

Also, Rosie Glen-Lambert, associate director; Martha Donaldson, production stage manager; Tyler Larson and Stephen Bubniak, assistant stage managers. 

What: Babbitt

When:  Now through Nov. 3, 2024 at 2 p.m.

Where: Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Harman Hall, 610 F St., Washington, D.C. 20004

Tickets:  Box office: 202-547-1122, 12–6 p.m. every day or buy online or STCbox@ShakespeareTheatre.org

Duration: Approximately 2 hrs. and ten minutes with one 15-minute intermission

Ages:  For mature teens and up

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