|
Regional Reviews: St. Louis Deathtrap Also see Richard's reviews of The Children, The Black Feminist Guide to the Human Body and A Doll's House, Part 2
As Sidney Bruhl, Stephen Peirick has a lot of Laurence Olivier's staginess in act one, if you've seen him in the 1972 film version of another great suspense play, Anthony Shaffer's Sleuth. Or maybe it's Jonathan Harris from Lost in Space Mr. Peirick is channeling in that first half. Then, in act two, the actor pivots and gives us a self-loathing brilliance that completely subverts his earlier great mastermind. Like Sleuth's Andrew Wyke, this particular Sidney Bruhl is an absurdly impressive mystery writer of dubious legacy, consumed by a scheme that goes too far. But once Mr. Peirick's tribute to Olivier falls away like a booster rocket, he reveals something that's gothic, lurid, and thrillingly complex. Deathtrap premiered in 1978 at the Music Box Theatre (it moved to the Biltmore Theatre in 1982) and ran for four years, a record-breaker for the genre on Broadway. Shaffer's play, Sleuth, had moved to this country in 1970 and ran over three years, also at the Music Box. Perhaps Deathtrap ran 33% longer than Sleuth because of its far more visceral peaks–or because of the steady flow of Mr. Levin's character–and relationship-based humor. In the end, Deathtrap is still shocking and funny, and feels brand new, thanks to director and company founder Gary F. Bell. His characters move on stage like dancers in a painting by Chagall. Anne Vega is disarmingly real as Sidney's wife Myra, amused at his broad eccentricities and using her family fortune to underwrite a long list of his flops as a playwright. Victor Mendez is once again outstanding, here as Clifford, Sidney's former student who has written a whodunnit masterpiece on his very first try. Liz Mischel is completely fresh and original as the busybody Helga ten Dorp. But suddenly we have an intriguing new balance on stage: a Sidney Bruhl who's pixilated in act one, and a Helga (the story's famed psychic) who's unexpectedly credible throughout. Meanwhile, David Wassilak maintains an even keel as Sidney's seemingly wooden lawyer Porter Milgrim. The set! It's by Rob Lippert, his best yet, a lavish, rustic living room out in the woods in Connecticut in a renovated farm stable. I happened to migrate across the audience at intermission, and it was almost like getting a bonus set-change just seeing it from the other side of the house. The lighting design is great, with fine storm effects by Tyler Duenow. The costumes are put together by the director with a subtle sound design by Justin Been. Mr. Peirick is an actor of outsized talent, in more ways than one. And yet the play itself remains bullet-proof–unlike some of the characters in the final scenes. The production broaches on a three hour run-time, with one intermission and two moderately kinetic recapitulation scenes. But it takes on shockingly gargantuan proportions, unfolding like one of those big foam mattresses they ship you in a much smaller box. It all turns quite monstrous, once let loose. Stray Dog Theatre's Deathtrap runs through February 21, 2026, at the Tower Grove Abbey, 2336 Tennessee Ave., St. Louis MO. For tickets and information, please visit www.straydogtheatre.org. Cast: Production Staff: * Denotes Member, Actors' Equity Association . |
