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There's such as thing as damning with faint praise. To avoid being charged with doing just that, we want to make this clear: Different Stages' production of Agatha Christie's The Hollow, running until July 15 at the Vortex, is a thoroughly enjoyable night of theatre. The eclectic, brainy group of folks at DS (who in the past have brought Austin such varied works as Garcia Lorca's The House of Bernarda Alba, Christopher Durang's Betty's Summer Vacation, and Brian Friel's Molly Sweeny) have hit the murder-mystery genre's nail on its head, providing the right set, sounds, lighting, and drama to keep us guessing up to the end. No really, we were quite literally whispering whodunits in our husband's ear, which is one of many reasons we enjoyed ourselves so much.
In short, the plot is this: a large-ish group of family/friends gathers at The Hollow estate for the weekend. One member of the group is an utter ass. Said ass is murdered. In response, the group members reveal their backstories 'til we figure out (by process of elimination) who the killer is. Since these things hinge so heavily on whether the actors convince and confuse us just enough, we must call out a few performances. First, Sharon Elmore was delightful -- so charming and funny! -- as Lady Angkatell, the absent-minded grande dame of The Hollow. She pulled the most laughs without chewing any scenery, which can be a tricky feat. M. Phillip Weisman as her husband Sir Henry helped a great deal in this by playing her straight man.
We also enjoyed the subtle work of Nicole Marosis as the brainy, complex Henrietta Angkatell. With a pensive frown, a constant, careful observation of the players, and a fetching artist's wardrobe, she grounded the play -- another necessary element. On the other end of that spectrum, Jessica Medina as the vampy Veronica Craye was stunning and utterly convincing as a self-centered starlet. And wow, what a wardrobe! We guess now's a good time to give props to Jannette Driscoll's costume design as well.
Lastly, a few other cast members who caught our eye.... Frequent Different Stages players Charles P. Stites and Sarah Seaton worked together extremely well as the egotistical rogue John Christow and his "cow-eyed" wife Gerda. We wonder sometimes whether Stites might develop a reputation for being a class-A jerk -- he has repeatedly and so convincingly played one on stage -- but we happen to know he's a sweetheart in person. As for Seaton, we've never seen her do dim-witted before, and it was fun to watch the actress, whose work we've always enjoyed, put on something new. Rounding things out, Julianna Wright and Tyler Jones were fine as Midge Harvey and Edward Angkatell, the required "young and conflicted" members of the group. There was less to work with in these roles, but Wright and Jones did them good service.
So it was the cast, not to mention the excellent direction from Different Stages Producing Artistic Director Norman Blumensaadt, that gave a just-right (not too hard, not too soft) performance of Christie's script. After Act I, we weren't sure who was going to be murdered. After Act II, we were certain we'd picked up on the correct, subtly dropped clue to name the murderer. We were wrong. By curtain call, we were smiling and satisfied. It's true that the single-set, drawing-room murder mystery, stocked with characters from days gone by, and propelled by expected -- nay, anticipated -- plot devices, will always have its limitations. You won't see anything cutting edge when you settle in for an Agatha Christie play. Indeed, if you enter the theatre looking for anything other than a comfortable, pleasant evening that will not shock, disturb, upset, or challenge you, then you're just being silly. The fun of a murder mystery is trying to figure things out. A really good one needs a solid script and a collection of especially fine performances to make the guesswork all the more challenging. And in this, Different Stages has done a splendid job.
The Hollow runs thu July 15
Th/Fr/Sa @ 8pm, with one remaining Sunday (7/9) at 7pm
Call 478-5282 for "Pick Your Price" tickets ($15/$20/$25/$30)
At the Vortex, 2307 Manor Road
Image (c) Different Stages.
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