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Murder will out: 'Death By Design' blends comedy, mystery at The Adobe Theater
Clockwise from top left: Sarah Kesselring, Isaac Carrillo, Rhonda Sigler-Ware and Dan Ware star in 鈥淒eath By Design鈥� at The Adobe Theater.
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A weekend retreat to a country house, a radical socialist, a politician and
a nearsighted ing茅nue mingle in a mashup of No毛l Coward-meets-Agatha Christie.
They all carry secrets.
Opening at The Adobe Theater on Friday, Aug. 30, 鈥淒eath By Design鈥� blends both comedy and mystery in a fast-paced farce featuring a tangle of screwball twists.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a mystery,鈥� said director Lewis Hauser. 鈥淚t鈥檚 also a comedy. It鈥檚 a throwback to the old style mysteries of the 1930s. It鈥檚 just one twist after another.鈥�
It鈥檚 1932 and Edward Bennett, a playwright, and his actress wife Sorel have just had a disastrous opening night.
She is an outrageous, flirty, capricious over-actor, and it鈥檚 perfectly obvious why Gertrude Lawrence, of whom she is passionately jealous, is much better. They鈥檝e escaped London to hunker down in their country digs, only to have their peace shattered by the arrival of one unexpected screwball guest after another. When one of the guests is murdered, Bridgit, the manor鈥檚 feisty Irish maid with a macabre interest in homicide, is determined to solve the crime, armed with a feather duster.
鈥淭hey all intermingle when a murder occurs,鈥� Hauser said. 鈥淎ll of these people are involved in the murder in some way. It鈥檚 up to the audience to figure things out.鈥�
Hauser has directed many comedies for The Adobe Theater over the years. Last year, he presented Neil Simon鈥檚 鈥淭he Dinner Party.鈥�
The cast features Isaac Carrillo, Tim Crofton, Clair Gardner, Sarah Kesselring, Kristine Padilla, Rhonda Sigler-Ware, Dan Ware and Julian Wheaton.
