Cast of ‘Something’s Afoot.’ Front Row: Gary Dieter, Amanda Dickson, Thomas Gardner, Tammy Oppel. Middle Row: Mike Ware, Jane C. Boyle, Steve Antonsen. Back Row: Elton Knupp, Tim Evans, Dean Allen Davis. Photo by Tom Lauer.
Vagabond Players’ second show in their 100th Season, Something’s Afoot, fills the theatre with laugher, music and mystery.
Written by James McDonald, David Vos, and Robert Gerlach, with additional music by Ed Linderman and directed by Eric J. Potter, Something’s Afoot is a musical that takes a satirical jab at Agatha Christie mysteries.
…Something’s Afoot is a highly entertaining, madcap adventure that serves up a main course of laughs and fun with a side of murder.
Set in the 1930s at Rancour’s Retreat – the country estate of Lord Dudley Rancour, somewhere in the English lake district – ten people are stranded in this isolated English country house during a raging thunderstorm. Characters are murdered, Lord Dudley going first, one at a time, in a variety of clever ways. Bodies begin to pile up in the library as the characters still standing race to find the identity of the murderer before the next death occurs.
Jane C. Boyle is a standout as Miss Tweed, an amateur detective who is hard to intimidate and easy to like with her strong voice and wonderful comedic timing. Another standout is Steve Antonsen as Colonel Gillweather, the old army man who is poisoned by blowgun dart and lives long enough to analyze the poison and to draw more laughter out of the audience.
The entire cast works well together and their enjoyment on stage is evident. One of my favorite songs from the play is “Suspicious,” sung by the company, who are Gary Dieter, Amanda Dixon, Thomas Gardner, Tammy Oppel, Mike Ware, Jane C. Boyle, Steve Antonsen, Elton Knupp, Tim Evans and Dean Allen.
Maurice “Moe” Conn’s set is amazing and everything one would find in an English manor home. There are many interesting ways decorations and wall fixtures are used to hide creative murder weapons.
Vagabond Players’ Something’s Afoot is a highly entertaining, madcap adventure that serves up a main course of laughs and fun with a side of murder.
Running Time: Two hours, including a 15-minute intermission.
Something’s Afoot runs through November 15, 2015 at Vagabond Players – 806 South Broadway, in Baltimore, MD. For tickets, call (410) 563-9135, or click here.
