Clever Direction, Staging, and Versatile Cast Make Alleyway’s ROGER ACKROYD a night of theatrical magic

AGATHA CHRISTIE’S THE MURDER OF ROGER ACKROYD, a play by Heidi Armbruster, directed by Chris Handley, starring Sara Kow-Falcone, Bill Lovern, David Lundy, Steven Maiseke, Sheila McCarthy, Johnny Rowe, and Julia Witt. 4/16 – 5/3, Thu – Sat 7:30 plus one matinee Sat 4/26 at 3:30 and Industry night, Monday 4/21. Visit alleyway.com for tickets and information.

RUNTIME: 2 hours 20 minutes including one intermission

THUMBNAIL SKETCH:  A murder right after a suicide has the residents of the tiny drowsy English village, King’s Abbot, all abuzz.  The village’s sole country doctor tries to sort things out, but it’s a hopeless muddle, which seems muddier still even after the famed Belgian detective Hercule Poirot reluctantly leaves his retirement vegetable garden to take on the case.  Village politics, family tensions, and moral convictions are all tested in this twisty tale that delves deep into the human psyche’s intricate dance with truth and deception.  As Poirot observes: “Oh! money! All the troubles in the world can be put down to money—whether you have too much or too little.”  Remember that.  With clockwork precision, just seven actors play all the characters in this highly theatrical adaptation of Agatha Christie’s 1926 mystery.

THE PLAYERS, THE PLAY, AND THE PRODUCTION:  What makes this play so successful?  Everything.  Just as there are many moving parts in a clock, in a ballet, and in a good detective story, there are many moving parts in this play currently running at The Alleyway Theatre on a new “theater in the round” (well, rectangle) stage configured by national designer Chyna Mayer.  There, in the heart of Buffalo’s Theatre District, seven actors play over 16 characters in a swirl of bodies, properties, set pieces, costumes, and lights.  

After the opening night, I asked the director, Chris Handley, how he was able to pull it all together so smoothly, which, for theater in the round, is a whole other level of complicated.  He admitted that it was difficult, but that in school he had performed a lot in the round, and knew what worked and what didn’t.  And this play works.  Like clockwork.

Right from the start, as actor David Lundy starts to narrate the story in his role as the overworked country doctor, other actors visibly take on the roles of stagehands and dressers in addition to their characters, so the action is non-stop.  Readers of my reviews know my frustration with many local companies’ interminable scene changes.  Here, they are not only fast but highly amusing as actors quickly push and pull scenery and set out props, all to music cleverly chosen by Emma Schimminger (including nods to PBS’s Mystery series themes).

Properties by Dane Almeter Jones are, as usual, so cleverly procured or made.  Speaking of which, if you sit on the south side of the stage (with your back to Shea’s), you might get pelted with a “marrow,” which is what the English call a Zucchini.

I hesitate to compare local productions to those of the Shaw Festival, with the Shaw’s big budgets, oodles of rehearsal time with their own repertory company players, and twice as many preview nights.  The Shawfest is, for me, the area’s gold standard.  But in terms of audience delight, this came pretty damned close.

The costumes by Ann Emo are quite convincing, but what makes them special is how quickly the actors can divest or cover up one costume to take on a completely different role.  Sara Know-Falcone takes on several roles, as housekeeper, impatient detective, and snooty rich lady, and while Julia Witt might seem to have only one role, as Flora, the young fiancée who is a potential heiress, but see if you can spot her in another role later in the play.  And bouquets to Sheila McCarthy, who takes on three roles of women of approximately the same age and is able to make them each distinct.  In terms of writing, directing, acting, costumes, set, and properties, the croquet scene is one for the ages.

Johnny Rowe takes on several roles and Steven Maiseke takes two, as butler and potential heir to the Ackroyd fortune.  Bill Lovern takes on two roles, first as Roger Ackroyd, very convincing as a comfortable British gentleman, and then as Hercule Poirot, less-than-convincing with a somewhat hard-to-understand accent.  As I’ve opined elsewhere, why do we need actors to take on accents at all?  Tell us we’re in Britain, and let’s get on with the play.

The only actor with the luxury of one role is David Lundy who serves as the doctor.  He alternates between being both narrator and self-appointed assistant to the great Hercule Poirot, who keeps advising the doctor that everybody has something to hide.  Lundy, who has skillfully performed one-man shows (GIVE ‘EM HELL, HARRY as well as REMEMBER THIS), seemed quite comfortable in his many solo scenes on this stage, and was able to pace his speech to the benefit of his character and the audience’s ability to absorb facts.  Jolly good show.

The Alleyway Theatre puts on new plays.  That’s their mission.  So, without the benefit of previous cities’ production histories to guide them, sometimes their selections are wonderful discoveries, and sometimes they’re head scratchers.  ROGER ACKROYD lands squarely in the wonderful discoveries bucket.  And, as a veteran PBS viewer, I assure you that this is an experience you just can’t get watching TV.  But hurry, because this play is only up through May 3.