STAGE REVIEW : Surprises Keep Life in ‘Deathtrap’ at Brea’s Curtis Theatre

The Brea Theatre League gives a satisfyingly wicked staging to “Deathtrap,” Ira Levin’s murder-and-mayhem yarn about a dried-up mystery writer and the trouble he gets into when life begins to imitate art.

“Deathtrap” has enough feints, turnarounds and nasty surprises to please most whodunit fans, and director John Sparano takes advantage of them. Sparano doesn’t do anything new with the play that was first staged in New York in 1978, but his straightforward approach pushes the right buttons.

Levin has given him some interesting characters to work with. Sidney Bruhl is a famous writer with several stage mysteries on his sparkling resume. He has money, a nice country estate, a hyper but loving wife and a writer’s block of monolithic proportions.

His career is a fade-out. What to do? The apparent answer arrives in the form of a superb and highly commercial mystery written by one of his students, Clifford Anderson. The solution is simple but bloody: murder Clifford and market the play as his own.

That’s the setup, but as usual with these plot twisters, things aren’t as obvious as they seem.

Steve Valentine may not give Sidney the ominous tone that would make him creepier, but he does infuse him with the right pompous, self-destructive quality. As Clifford, Joseph Middleton isn’t as conniving as he could be, but it’s an energetically pleasing performance nonetheless.

The most entertaining turn comes from Joanne Underwood as Helga Ten Dorp, Sidney’s psychic neighbor. She’s pretty amusing babbling in a thick accent about this and that.

Alexandra Bank is a disappointment, though, as Sidney’s wife; she’s fidgety, all right, but not very convincing as someone who could have a heart attack at any moment.

On the technical side, Todd Faux’s set, depicting Sidney’s sumptuous but quirky living room, is outstanding, especially by community-theater standards. Stephen Cuzner’s lighting is meat-and-potatoes but gets the job done.

‘DEATHTRAP’

A Brea Theatre League production of Ira Levin’s play. Directed by John Sparano. With Steve Valentine, Alexandra Bank, Joseph Middleton, Joanne Underwood and David Billman. Set by Todd Faux. Lighting by Stephen Cuzner. Sound by Tim Engvall. Plays tonight through Saturday at 8 p.m. at the Curtis Theatre, 1 Civic Center Drive, Brea. Tickets: $7.50 to $12. (714) 524-6653.