Greater Hamilton Civic Theatre closes out its 50th anniversary season with a revival of “Something’s Afoot,” the wacky musical that takes a satirical jab at the conventional murder mystery.
To direct, the group invited back Burt McCollom, who had directed the show some 30 years ago for the Footlighters in Cincinnati and has a long history with GHCT, beginning in 1972 when he when he had a part in a mystery of another sort, “Wait Until Dark.”
“I love this show,” he said of the current production. “It spoofs all the things we dearly love about musical theater and Agatha Christie and the ‘whodunit’ style of mystery,” he said. “It is exactly what it makes fun of with a lot of plot turns and surprises. If you think you know ‘whodunit,’ ‘whodidn’t.”
Indeed, to help keep the element of surprise, the program lists the musical numbers, but doesn’t tell you who sings them.
“The whole thing has its tongue so far up its cheek it looks like another ear,” McCollom said.
The plot is straight from Christie’s “Ten Little Indians,” he said. A group of people who don’t know each other are invited to an isolated English estate by its owner, Lord Rancour, whom we never meet.
“The music is every style you want — tap dancing, big production numbers, waltzes — all character-driven musical numbers,” McCollom said. “We have a great cast and they are absolutely going for it.”
Emily Moroney of Cincinnati plays Lettie the saucy maid, who has been rumored to have had an affair with Lord Rancour.
“For Lettie, this marvelous weekend at Rancour’s Retreat is another opportunity to ‘live it up in style’ while serving Lord Rancour’s guests,” Moroney said. “While Lettie has been a maid to Lord Rancour for some time, she often gets away with doing minimal work — that is until she shows up to find Lord Rancour missing.”
Denny Thomas of Morrow plays the caretaker Flint, making his return to the stage after a five-year hiatus, last seen in the GHCT production of “Baby.”
“Flint is a fun-loving character always on the lookout for the occasional romp with the females in and around the manor,” Thomas said, “never afraid to ‘offer his assistance’ — a pinch here and a pinch there, just what could it hurt? Very few of his lines have just one simple meaning.”
Clive the butler is played by Jeff Christian of Hamilton, whose last GHCT show was “The Crucible.”
“Clive and his wife, prior to her death ‘last winter,’ have worked there for many, many years,” he said. “The play, from Clive’s perspective, is simply an evening dinner party and the house is not prepared to his standards.”
The ingénue Hope Langdon is played by Olivia Yokers of Hamilton, who made her GHCT debut at age 10 and in recent years has performed in “Once On This Island,” “Gypsy,” “The Sound of Music” and “George M.”
“Hope helps Miss Tweed solve the mystery of the unknown murderer, and falls head over heels in love with an uninvited guest, Geoffrey, who becomes the love interest in her life,” Yokers said.
Matthew Speed, originally from Detroit and now living in Cincinnati, makes his Greater Hamilton Civic Theatre debut as Dr. Grayburn.
“Dr. Grayburn is a mild-mannered, kind man,” Speed said, “most likely Lord Rancour’s doctor and fellow golfing buddy.”
Nigel Rancour, “the dissolute nephew,” is played by Les Bowen of Fairfield, back on the community theater stages after performing in a national tour with “Sesame Street Live.”
“Nigel is the black sheep nephew of Lord Rancour,” Bowen said. “He is vain and loves his looks and money.”
Lady Grace Manley-Prowe, the obligatory “grande-dame” is played by Lebanon’s Michelle MacCutcheon, a veteran of Lebanon Community Theatre and Middletown Lyric Theatre making her GHCT debut.
“Lady Grace Manley-Prowe thinks of herself as high society,” MacCutcheon said, but “she’s really broke. She has been around the block a few times and her past may present a possible motive for her to commit murder.”
Col. Gillweather, the old army man, is played by Wayne Kirsch of Milan, Ind., also making his debut on the GHCT stage after appearing in nearly 100 productions in 16 states.
“Col. Gilweather is a career man in the British army, having served in World War I and fought ‘the Fuzzy Wuzzies’ in India,” Kirsch said. “Unsure of why he was invited to the manor, he discovers a secret from his past connects him to the heir of the Rancor estate.”
Miss Tweed, the tweedy, elderly, amateur detective, is played by Lyndall Murray of Fairfield.
The mystery genre is not new to Lyndall as she was involved in GHCT’s productions of “Postmortem” and “Ten Little Indians.” Some of her other favorite roles for GHCT include the stepmother in “Cinderella,” Olga in “You Can’t Take It With You” and Julia in “Lend Me A Tenor.”
“Miss Tweed fancies herself a sleuth, however her experience is only with mystery novels, especially ones by Agatha Christie,” Murray said. “The happenings at the Rancour Mansion are a dream come true for her in some ways as she casts herself as a ‘Miss Marple’ as she attempts to solve the mysterious murders of her fellow guests.”
The juvenile Geoffrey is played by Jon Hacker of Trenton.
“He is a college student who is on the rowing team. He becomes in the house cause his rowing boat sinks and he swims to the island and finds himself in the house,” Hacker said.
The producer of “Something’s Afoot” is Linda L. Getz, who has announced her “retirement” from producing for GHCT.
Dan Murrell, who passed away in 2004, directed the original GHCT production of “Something’s Afoot.”
“He was a former student of mine,” McCollom said. “We’re dedicating this show to his memory and will have a lobby display about his work with Greater Hamilton Civic Theatre.”
Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2188 or rjones@coxohio.com.
