Exit Who?

Wow! How discerning of this Director to have found something new and refreshing to entertain audiences on the local “am-dram” circuit!

On a rather warm evening the “full house” quickly settled down with eager anticipation as the strains of the show music “The Teddy Bears’ Picnic” set the mood for what was to come.

The setting was the living-room of a New England holiday apartment, where successful crime writer Crane Hammond makes a return visit in the hope to complete her latest book. 

Confusion reigned from the outset as Crane had arrived a day earlier than expected and was initially mistaken for the cleaner! 

Various villagers drop in and out along the way including the local Sherriff and Crane’s suspicions are further raised when she finds a man hiding in the closet!

It soon becomes clear that a previous tenant had concealed a microdot somewhere within the apartment which was going to be collected at midnight by persons unknown – DUN DUN DUN!

Throughout there was talk of the FBI, the CIA and of course the Russians! The plot certainly thickened, and chaos ensued with everyone gathering at midnight to find the microdot and expose the spy.

All the diverse characters were extremely well played each putting their own stamp on their individual parts, with Texan Cyrus D Conway, in a great costume, making a lovely cameo.

The performer in the central role of Crane was hardly ever off the stage and was played with great warmth and charisma, and accompanied perfectly by Kate, her friend and secretary. Both ladies gave superb performances and did brilliantly with 80 pages of dialogue!

After all the various comings and goings, misunderstanding and red herrings it was finally revealed  that it was Mabel the town telephone operator who was the perpetrator! Of course, who else as she always had her ear to the ground and knew everything that was going on -  it was lovely to see the Stage Manager in the spotlight for once!

One hilarious crumb of evidence to add to all the fun was that the microdot had actually been concealed in a batch of chocolate chip cookies and could have easily been inadvertently consumed along the way!

It seems that everyone involved had great fun during rehearsals and this certainly transferred to the stage without a doubt. 

As usual the set and costumes were just right for the production, the action fast moving and funny – everyone was in disguise and we certainly all received a big surprise!

 

Any observation made by the reviewer can only be based on what they see at the performance in question.  The reviewer may have received information in advance of the performance, and it is inevitable that their assessment will be affected by that knowledge.

The N.O.D.A. Representative’s intention is to give an objective critique of the overall production and in particular the performance viewed.  It should be remembered that any review of this nature can only be objective as far as the techniques used during the performance observed.  Any criticisms expressed may not have been valid at other performances and are only made to encourage higher standards in Amateur Theatre.

It is hoped that the audience’s appreciation of your efforts will have given everyone a lift and encouraged you to greater achievements in the future and that the observations made by the reviewer will prove helpful in improving future productions.

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