TribLIVE: Greensburg actor Rick Dutrow will reprise his role as Inspector Pratt in Apple Hill Playhouse's production of “Death by Fatal Murder” by Peter Gordon.
He portrayed the detective at Apple Hill in the other two plays in Gordon's Inspector Pratt trilogy, “Murdered to Death” and “Secondary Cause of Death,” which is a spoof of the Agatha Christie “whodunit” genre.
4 comments:
I generally don’t look for articles that are more actor-heavy in their content considering I’m in technical theatre. However, this article caught my eye quickly because I love to death murder mysteries. I’ve read almost everything Agatha Christie has written. Something about the storytelling grabs and holds my attention better than most other genres of stories. “Death by Fatal Murder” is a spoof murder mystery play, which seems right up my alley. It seems similar to my favorite film “Murder by Death”, which makes fun of famous literature dtectives. The actor who was interviewed says he has a fun time playing the character, which is good because if the actor is having a good time on stage the audience will react to that and have a better time watching the show. Since the genre interests me so much, and it’s also a theatrical production I’ll be looking into seeing this show at the Apple Hill Playhouse.
These types of plays are really not my favorite but definitely have an impact. I am not one for any kind of horror and gore, but I do like the mystery part of it. What I think this article really should have focused on, as it is an add for the production, is the wide appeal it can have, not just name dropping everyone involved. Getting people to go see a show who are not into the theater entertainment is hard, however I know I have many friends who love to go to Rocky Horror in October even though they won't go to any other production. This style of theater is very unique and different in what it does, which is why they can appeal to a broader audience. I think to get this show to something more they need to ramp it up perform around the Halloween season because then anyone who likes the creepy atmosphere would have an interest, which is a group I think they are missing now.
Much like Annie, I wish this article had gone a little more in depth with details of the show instead of just name dropping cast members. It sounds like the show takes place in an incredibly entertain world and I want to know more about it. By all means include the names of the people involved but I would’ve liked to know more about the interesting parts of the production. For example, is there something special about the set or lights or costumes? Even just something interesting about the story and the world the show takes place in would have done it. But no, instead all we get is a a bunch of names, a quick description, and the knowledge that the inspector speaks strangely. All that being said, it does sound like an interesting show and I kind of want to go see it now. If they were doing some kind of event where they showed all three plays in the trilogy I would definitely have to find a way to get my self over there.
I generally will look for articles that talk about the cool set design or quick tips for production, and often leave much of the acting stuff to the side because i am less interested in acting than the technical aspect of theater. however, having done a few Agatha Christie shows, i am always interested in murder mysteries. that being said, the article itself did not satisfy the interest i had in it because it talked very little about the show itself, relying on displaying the names of its many actors as the base content for the piece. all in all, it is a show that i would go see out of curiosity more than anything, and i would definitely recommend it to anyone who loves a suspenseful, and humerus production
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