After just two performances, the Greenwood Little Theatre’s production of “The Butler Did It” just keeps getting better.
“The Butler Did It,” written by Tim Kelly, is a classic spoof “whodunit,” much like the board game and movie “Clue.” When a murder takes place on Turkey Island during a dinner party, the mystery writer guests must solve the crime.
The cast and crew put together a tight-knit play, despite missing an original cast member.
From the very beginning Sandi Wheatley portrays Miss Maple to a “T.” She brings to light the question of this woman’s sanity without acting insane. Miss Maple is so carried away with her planned melodrama that she refuses to deviate despite her very own mystery finally unfolding right in front of her instead of in a book.
Wheatley flits and flutters around her fellow actors in such a manner that she can return them to the plot line her character has laid out if they get out of line.
Claire Dean does a great job appearing bumbling in front of Miss Maple’s guests but more than capable behind their backs.
Dean constantly stops what she’s doing on stage to listen in on the rest of the cast’s antics, showing how truly aware her character, Haversham, is of the mystery she’s a part of.
Wheatley does a great job showing more frustration and suspicion toward her maid, just as Dean shows more awareness of the gathering after the murder. Everyone on the stage suddenly grows more wary, especially as the accusations fly.
Louis Fan is the worst at making accusations. John Rose has added his own flair and research to the part by incorporating an accent to go along with his kimono and fighting fan. Rose also went the extra mile, finding authentic insults to fling across the stage.
Fan has no patience for his fellow guests, and they have none for him. In fact, not even a supposed priest can keep his name straight.
Father White is the most calm of the group, almost the voice of reason. As played by Quincy Armstrong, he works hard to keep a calm head through all of this, playing with the game until it becomes reality.
The priest is finally shaken, and because of this Armstrong sets out to shake others up.
“You don’t understand; he’s really dead!” Armstrong yells on stage, grabbing his fellow actors.
The simple act of aggression is a great block designed by Armstrong to get everyone’s attention, including the audience.
Chandler Marlow, the misogynist of the group, portrayed by Paul Brown, is the one the father shakes. Brash and a bit sarcastic, Marlow is a challenging character, but Brown channels his inner ‘50s P.I. without a second thought and with a voice that is just perfection.
“Give me a kiss, sugar, for old time sake,” Brown propositions Charity Haze.
Lorna Boyd takes Charity Haze to the next level, flinging her arms wide upon entrance. Boyd blinds the audience with her glitz and glamour as evident as her sparkly jacket, which she dug out of her closet for the part. Providing a strong contrast to that glamour is Rita, a drab character played by Denise Young.
Young does a wonderful job downplaying her own style sense to play Rita, keeping her voice light but her actions suspicious. She certainly draws the eyes as well as the suspicions.
Peter Flimsey, portrayed by Cam Abel, is quick to disprove any theory — perhaps because he’s more than the pompous Sherlock Holmes character he portrays.
“The headless horseman’s girlfriend was black; Rita is not,” he argues.
Abel, a last-minute addition to the cast, does a great job helping where he can with lines and keeping his character scholarly yet relatable. To the audience, Abel seems to be the only one asking the real questions and getting some answers. He takes the stage with a commanding voice that varies depending on his line.
Christopher Thompson and Dominique Stowers bring snobbish poise to their portrayals of Rick and Laura Carlyle.
Truly upper-class, they wrinkle their noses at the blue cheese fondue offered and after Thompson is murdered, Stowers does a wonderful portrayal of a woman more consumed with her mental competition with Mable Dupree — the other woman — than with the fact that her husband is dead.
Thompson himself dies rather “poorly,” showing that everyone dies in the same way, whether upper-class or lower-class. However, not everyone gets to deliver their last words so comically.
“I’m dead.”
The play’s humor is all in the details that each actor brought to the stage, and the characters will keep you guessing.
As the curtains fall on the play, one can only say, “Encore!”
•Contact Laura Prosser at 581-7233 or lprosser@gwcommonwealth.com.
