James Lloyd Reynolds and Loren Dunn occupy Center stage on Jon Collins’ magnificent set at the Engeman Theater in Northport..Photo by Michael DeCristofaroTheater Review “Deathtrap”
Produced by the John W. Engeman Theater, Northport.
Reviewed by: Jeb Ladouceur
Of all Ira Levin’s works: “The Boys from Brazil” – “Deathtrap” – “The Stepford Wives” – “Rosemary’s Baby” … and dozens of other novels, plays, and film adaptations … “Deathtrap” is the one that incorporates the most convoluted plot. The comedy-thriller is considered in show biz circles an absolute monster to direct, but with Robert Moore at the helm in 1978, the play opened to critical acclaim at the Music Box Theater in New York. And it didn’t close until June of 1982 … after 1800 performances … making the tragicomedy the longest running drama of its genre in Broadway history.
As in most Levin fiction, there are unmistakable elements of truth in the story of a desperate, once successful playwright, listlessly typing away in his Connecticut home. The author’s inner spark seems to have fizzled … the creative wellspring has run dry!
I have never seen a satisfying summary of this ‘plot-reversal’ play, and it’s rather doubtful that one can be written in an abstract shorter than the script for the two-act, six-scene drama itself. Suffice it to say, the unexpected is the one thing we can expect in “Deathtrap.” Therefore, journalistic limitations being what they are, and not wanting to give away too much, the only appropriate suggestion is—find out for yourself … go see this incredibly well-crafted thriller as fast as you can.
The thing that’ll initially take your breath away is Jonathan Collins’ set. The Encore Award-winning scenic designer puts us in a writer’s study so appropriately appointed that we can virtually see and hear the gulls of Westport diving for baitfish in the nearby Sound. And Wilburn Bonnell’s lighting adds its own magic, especially during a totally convincing electrical storm, and on the three occasions when the fireplace is lit … and glows radiantly.
There are only five characters in “Deathtrap” and one gets the impression that given all the twists and turns that alternately take us wide-eyed, laughing, or alarmed through this ingenious show, the quintet is a perfect squad for enacting what Levin, the master of misdirection, had in mind. One more player in the unpredictable game of ‘Omigosh’ would have been one too many.
James Lloyd Reynolds, whose credits read like a ‘Who’s Who’ of top theater roles—both on and off Broadway—is as good as advertised playing writer ‘Sydney Bruhl.’ And Loren Dunn, a most welcome newcomer to Long Island, complements him nicely as the opportunistic plagiarist ‘Clifford Anderson.’ Veteran Engeman theatergoers will be glad that Dunn’s circuitous path through Arizona and Ohio playhouses, has brought him ultimately to Northport.
Charming Mary Mossberg plays Sydney’s plucky but sickly wife ‘Myra’ to near perfection, while supporting actors, Patrick Husted and Sue Mathys, also succeed in bringing ‘Porter Milgrim’ and ‘Helga Ten Dorp’ to life respectively.
But the hardest won victory here almost certainly involves the directing. What demands concerning well timed action and dialogue this play makes! Accordingly we have Richard T. Dolce to thank for the smooth-as-silk result he’s brought to the Engeman stage. Manipulating the Rubik’s Cube of horror, innocence, deceit, and surprise … and assigning varying degrees of each component’s emphasis appropriately, must have been a maddening challenge at times. Dolce, however, has steered his talented charges through the maze masterfully.
This gasp-a-minute winner runs through September 7th – Call 631-261-2900 for tickets.
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Award-winning Smithtown writer Jeb Ladouceur is the author of eight novels, and his book and theater reviews appear in several major L.I. publications. In Ladouceur’s next thriller, “Harvest” due in late summer, an American doctor is forced to perform illegal surgeries for a gang of vital organ traffickers in The Balkans.