STAGE FRIGHT: A CHILLING DELIGHT

Lamplighters Community Theatre, La Mesa, Oct. 9-Nov. 8

By Miriam Raftery

October 11, 2015 (La Mesa)--When a caustic critic is lured to an old theatre under the pretext of a documentary about Lincoln assassin/actor John Wilkes Booth,  he swiftly finds himself drugged,  trussed up and tormented by an actress he’s savaged in reviews. The stage is set for mayhem and potentially, murder.

Devi Noel  portrays first the prim and proper Miss Leamington, who soon sheds her disguise to be revealed as the wickedly scheming actress, Mitzi Crenshaw.  Donning multiple costumes to portray notable roles in between extracting tortuous confessions from her captive critic,  F.F. Charnick, Noel clearly relishes the role and keeps the audience on edge throughout Lamplighters’ production of Stage Fright, a play by Charles Marowitz of Ventura.

Crenshaw first seeks to elicit empathy from the cold-hearted critic, opining on how his harsh reviews have ravaged the careers of herself and her husband, Dennis Michaelson.

Reality and fantasy begin to blur as she informs Charnick of her intent to murder him, justifying such action by pointing out, “You assassinate reputations.”  She offers him a “chance to rectify” his wretched reviews, but will he take it?

Patrick Griffin is persuasive in his role as Charnick, the insufferably pompous critic and skirt-chaser known to pen favorable reviews for actresses who warmed his bed. For those who don’t, he has unleashed acidic prose.  Of Crenshaw’s portrayal of Juliet, he opined that he wished she would not wake up.  Panning her role as Portia in Shakespeare’s  Merchant of Venice, he recommended euthanasia. He even insulted her appearance, observing she had the “posterior of a pachyderm.”

Steve Murdock brings his mellifluous voice and seemingly steadying influence to bear as Dennis, the actor/husband of Crenshaw, also a past target of Charnick’s vitriol.  He loves his wife but professes no illusions as to her character, confessing she is a “paranoid bitch.”  He is solid and persuasive in his role.

Unrepentant, the captive critic professes that an actor’s soul is “cracked and shriveled,” while insisting that  his captor must be loony because “no sane person would choose such a profession.” 

The critic, we discover, is a failed actor who has extracted his revenge through his biting critiques.  As the play progresses, the audience may find its empathies shifting from captive to captor—though when Noel and Murdock indulge in some melodramatic over-acting to persuade the critic of their talent--all in character, one may concede that the critic had a point.   

After first poisoning her captor with drugged wine, actress Crenshaw alternately threatens him with multiple modes of death, brandishing a pistol throughout much of the play.

At times,Charnick’s arrogant façade shows signs of cracking, fear flickering in his eyes, though outwardly he remains stoic. At one point he informs Crenshaw, “If it’s a choice between your Moliere and death by hanging, I’m ready to swing!”

Crenshaw’s husband shifts from  grudgingly protecting the critic from his wife’s madness to  declaring his readiness to kill off the critic himself.  By this point, the audience may be unsure whether to applaud or be appalled.  Will the critic live or die – and which outcome will be most satisfying?

The ending has a deliciously devilish twist, making this revenge thriller well worth the admission. 

For tickets, visit www.LamplightersLaMesa.com or call 619-303-5092.  Lamplighters Theatre is located at 5915 Severin Drive in La Mesa.