STAGE REVIEWS : ‘SOMETHING’S AFOOT’ A MUSICAL MYSTERY SPOOF

The delightful musical “Something’s Afoot,” presented by the Newport Theatre Arts Center, takes Agatha Christie on a hansom cab ride through insanity. The show is an intricate spoof of Christie’s “Ten Little Indians,” but it works as a theater piece in its own right: you don’t have to be a Christie fan to enjoy it.

At Lord Dudley Rancour’s country estate, we are introduced to seven unsuspecting weekend guests: the annoyingly enthusiastic Miss Hope Langdon, the faded grande dame, Lady Grace Manly-Prowe, and the black-sheep nephew, Nigel, who sings the virtues of Tanqueray in a high tenor. Predictably, the characters are eliminated, one by one, in ways increasingly bizarre, as the night wears on. It’s madness, of course--British madness, with upper lips very stiff indeed.

In the Newport production, the show is done in as surely as Lord Dudley’s guests by less-than-crisp pacing, errant special effects and an uninspired set. Eileen Fishbach’s direction seems uncertain, and her transitions are mushy. The production is soft where it should be as sharp as tacks, and the cast is not comfortable enough with the style of the show to take the rugby ball and run with it.

Mary Sullivan Slack’s performance as the intrepid amateur detective, Miss Tweed, is a collection of giddy character gags, and although she is quite light on her feet when she needs to be, she seems rather too congenial for a proper British snoop. Mary Murphy gives Hope a distinctly zany side that works well, especially as complemented by the rambunctious foolishness of Jeffrey Holland as the Oxford boy she so impulsively lands. Murphy and Holland are particularly winning in their witty “I Don’t Know Why I Trust You” number, which could have been lifted whole from a Fred Astaire-Ginger Rogers musical.

Beth Hansen is vocally fine as Lady Grace, but Fishbach has allowed her to play the role so heavy-handedly that the character loses all meaning. Bob Cady is terrific as the Cockney caretaker and, in the duet with Cynthia Kelly’s sassy maid, provides the most scintillating turn of the evening. The number is lively and completely captures the style of the British music hall--a style that the rest of the show could use in greater abundance.

“Something’s Afoot” continues through March 30 at the Newport Theatre Arts Center, 2501 Cliff Drive, Newport Beach. Information: 631-0288.

INGE’S ‘PICNIC’

In William Inge’s “Picnic,” almost everything of importance happens between the lines. The Brea Theatre League gives the play a straightforward production that supplies the proper framework for intense drama. Unfortunately, the cast, under the direction of Michael Ross, stubbornly treats the material as if the framework were all that matters.

The naturalistic setting is the common backyard of two houses in a fallow Kansas town. The environment is arid, but the characters are vivid--they crackle with dreams and uncharted emotions. In the midst of such variant possibilities, Ross’ staging is oddly stilted, and the cast frequently plays it too close to the vest for so turbulent a drama. Because so little emphasis is placed on the less obvious and therefore elusive qualities of the script, audience members may find it difficult to discover the more delicate aspects of Inge’s people and their passions. We also feel an ever-present fear of Inge’s rich sensuality that keeps us apart from the play’s absorbing underpinnings.

Debbie Grattan plays the beautiful Madge with spirit and many wide-eyed smiles, but without a touch of the enigma that would come with a girl who says she looks in her mirror every morning to make sure she still exists. Rick Domeier as Hal, the drifter who captures her imagination, has some good moments, but never finds a common motivation to hold them together. Neither performance reveals any surprises, and the characters’ erotic awakening becomes instead a high school flirtation, and a rather dopey one at that.

No-nonsense performances are turned in by Kristin Westmoreland, as Madge’s bright and awkward sister, and by Barbara Lee Cooke as the maiden schoolteacher, Rosemary. Cooke plays Rosemary with a cantankerous tone that occasionally borders on caricature, and thus the character’s repressed sexuality stays repressed. Phil Oakley, a few broad strokes aside, is suitably likable without being overly prepossessing as Madge’s well-meaning boyfriend.

Best by far is Sherry Barber, who captures the soul of the mother who doesn’t want to see her daughter make the same mistakes she made in her equally beautiful youth.

Keith Munson’s plain set unfortunately doesn’t lend the much-needed atmosphere to the piece, and Stuart M. Davis’ lighting is uneven and too shadowy.

The deep emotional waters indicated in Inge’s script just aren’t very deep in Brea. “Picnic” continues through Saturday at the Brea Civic Cultural Center, 1 Civic Center Circle, Brea. Information: 996-6283.