Take a well-known murder plot, like the marvelous mysteries penned by Agatha Christie, add 1930s English music hall-style songs and in-your-face satire, complete with pratfalls, and you have murderous mash-up Something's Afoot.
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Akin to Christie's detective story And Then There Were None, it is set in a remote country estate in the English Lakes District, circa 1935.
The manor servants - Clive (David Pfeiffer) the overworked butler; Lettie (Amanda Gordon) the flirty, feisty maid, and Flint (Rob Doyle), the handyman who is too "handsy" - prepare for the arrival of Lord Dudley Rancour's guests - naive Hope Langdon (Olivia Stevens-Seers); the very proper Doctor Grayburn (Adrian Davis), the black sheep nephew Nigel Rancour (Chris Francis), grande dame poseur Lady Manley-Prowe (Wendy Jamison), retired military man Colonel Gillweather (Robert Sanders), and amateur detective Miss Tweed (Cate Storen).
Believing they each were to be the only guest, they are surprised by the presence of others. Nonetheless, they believe it will be "a marvellous weekend".
When they gather to enjoy a sherry before dinner, Clive makes a surprise announcement and the mysterious murders ensue.
Cut off by a raging storm, the men head out to try to find a way off the estate. Meanwhile, an unexpected guest, college student Geoffrey (Billy Axford), arrives unannounced.
Bodies begin to pile up in the library as guests are deviously eliminated. Who is the evil perpetrator?
Audiences will admire the deadly devices (made by the Players Theatre volunteer construction team) and the excellent costumes supervised by retiring department head Sandra Miller.
Musical director Simone Berry has guided the cast through some tricky harmonies, while Stevens-Seers and Gordon pitched in with the choreography.
Under the guidance of director Jan Cook and her assistant director Bethany Cook the strong cast has some hilarious moments. There will be times when you might be tempted to warn the characters their demise is imminent and other times when a murder will take you completely by surprise.
Can you guess whodunnit in this rollicking musical? Fridays, Saturdays 8pm, Sundays 2pm, March 6-22, Players Theatre. Gala opening night $40, or $20-$35.