Who Da Dang Dunnit Take 2!

Could it be the young, rich indulgent speedster, Anthony Marston.  This cool millionaire trust fund baby is ably played by Gideon Goree, a first time community theater actor.  He is doing a marvelous job, very impressive.  Infinitely better than I did in my first community theater role, as I played a very serious character, and in my entrance, to a packed house of high schoolers, I tripped going up some steps and had them all howling in laughter for a minute or more.

Could it be General John MacKenzie, still missing his young wife two decades after her death?  Could he be seeking revenge against a brutal world?  I play this role, my 60th some production, and the second time I've been in this play.  I am grateful that so many of these talented young people are willing to put up with this old fogey.

Could it be Judge Lawrence Wargrave, the stern adjudicator?  This part is played by the brilliantly talented Rem Farr, who is not only one of this areas best thespians, but is also an prize-winning playwright and author!

What about the cold. calculating servant team of Mr. & Mrs. Rogers?  Is serving cold tongue just the beginning of a murderous chill?  Isaiah Ricks is an outstanding young actor who stepped into his role only two weeks before opening night.  Melissa Kresal plays Mrs. Rogers, and I must say, both actors are really kicking it with their characterizations!

And one mustn't forget Dr. Edna Armstrong, a woman in a male dominated profession.  What resentments does she harbor?  She is played by one of my very favorites, Brittany Peacock.  I have seen her knock it out of the park in several productions, and this one is no exception!

Could it be the spinster Miss Emily Brent, with her moral outrage and I am holier than thou outlook?  Emily is played by Karla Smith.  She is a newcomer to WACT, but not to the stage.  After years off to raise a family and other responsibilities, she is back onstage, and WACT is all that much richer for it.  I look forward to more plays with her, and her talented children.

And don't dismiss the boatman who brings them to the island.  Does he really leave the island, or is he secretly murdering them all?  Fred Narracott is played by Michael Lee, the only one in the cast who has been acting with WACT longer than I have!  He has been a great friend, and I have been in many plays with him and his mother, Melodye.  My finest moment onstage came when I did one of the acts of Plaza Suite with basically just Melodye and me.  It is amazing when you get one on one with an actress/actor of infinite talents.  It was truly a thing of beauty, and stands out in the crowd of sixty plus plays I have done. 

What about the mysterious, beautiful secretary to the unseen couple who have gathered them all there?  What from her past is she hiding that could lead her to eliminating everyone, one by one?  Vera Claythorne is played by Sarah Elizabeth Watson, someone with stellar acting, who I have watched in amazement in several productions and have never had the good fortune to act with until now.  It was worth the wait.  Michael Lee said that a short scene I have with Sarah rivals the one I did with his mother, Melodye.  A high compliment, indeed.

And we mustn't forget those twin towers of testoronic drive, mercenary and playboy Phillip Lombard who is callous towards those not of his "tribe" and treats women like he was in the cast of Mad Men, and also Davis (OR IS HE?), the South African adventurer with a an investigatory bent.

Lombard is played by Nicolas Horne, a Senior in high school but one who moves across the stage like a veteran (not one quite as creaky and old as myself, however).  He has shown incredible range in just the two parts I have seen in him, this and Jethro in The Beverly Hillbillies, and I am sure there is much more to come!

Joseph (Jody Rollins) plays the part I played back in the year (mumblely-mumbely).  One of the things I have taken most pride in over my years in theater is the tremendous range of the type of roles and characters I have gotten to play.  Of all the young actors I have seen, Jody can rival and surpass me in that regards.  I have watched him blend into an incredible variety of roles in the last few years, and I am honored to pass my torch of diverse casting on to him.  Bravo!

COME SEE THIS SHOW!!!