17
Nov
2015
"Life is infinitely stranger than anything which the mind of a man can invent." This Sherlock Holmes quote is a perfect description for the mystery play at the Playcrafters Barn Theatre - at least in terms of the lives of those on-stage. Just when you think things cannot get any crazier and the coincidences cannot get more coincidental, Ken Ludwig's script shows you otherwise. The Game's Afoot is a comedy with a mix of nutty characters and a whodunit theme, and while it was clear that the cast was still getting comfortable with each other and the script during Thursday's dress rehearsal, there were improvements in energy and confidence by the second act.
The Playcrafters Barn Theatre's production of Rehearsal for Murder suffers from poor pacing, but excels in its sincere sentiment and charm. The actors, for the most part, tend to take too many beats between lines, which leads to sometimes-clunky dialogue progression. Still, Friday night's performance was appealing for its overall emotional effect, and likable for the cast's ability to move the audience to sympathetic sorrow for the main character's heartache.
The plot of playwright Jeff Baron's Visiting Mr. Green is quite simple and predictable. And Baron's script is not as poignant as it seems to have been meant to be, especially since its message of accepting people's differences - particularly the differences presented in this play - has been heard before, and in far more effective ways. That being said, the Playcrafters Barn Theatre's production of Baron's work is truly touching, with its strong sentimentality helping to disguise the play's weaknesses.
