Murder Madness

Good evening. Our story tonight deals with the finer things in life--madness, adultery and murder, brought to you by the amiable folks at the Seaside Theatre in Carpinteria, just 20 minutes north by northwest from downtown Ventura.

Through the miracle of the stage, however, we find ourselves transported in “Night Watch” far from the world’s safest beach to a plush New York townhouse--the kind casually adorned with an original Picasso here and a Vermeer there.

Here we meet wealthy socialite Elaine Wheeler, our heroine. Portrayed by Linda Dorn, Elaine is a woman on the verge of a nervous breakdown--a chain-smoking insomniac who witnesses what she thinks is a series of murders in a neighboring building and has a difficult time convincing anyone that her suspicion is correct. You see, the apparitions in the window occur only when Elaine is alone. . . .

Naturally, after a thorough search the authorities fail to find any evidence of “moida.” Elaine’s husband, played by Robert Langenbucher, is particularly unsympathetic to her frenzy, and seems more intent on getting her trundled off to a remote Swiss sanitarium--after she’s signed those financial papers regarding the disposition of their considerable estate.

Even Elaine’s best friend (Blanche Cooke), on an extended visit with the Wheelers, seems to have a hidden agenda. And Elaine’s well-being is not exactly at the top of the list.

Dorn gives a compelling performance as Elaine, even managing to give credibility to playwright Lucille Fletcher’s purplest dialogue (“There was a stream of blood like a dark snake in the moonlight!”). And she screams with real distinction, lips pried wide open, eyes bulging.

Suffice it to say that her character’s fears are well-founded. But the greatest menace to Dorn comes from some of the supporting performances. There’s the Wheelers’ creepy neighbor (Chuck Frankenberg), an armchair sleuth swathed in a tacky ascot who slinks around like Peter Lorre and inflicts his unwelcome opinions oneveryone. Or the lady psychiatrist (Sandra Sterling) who looks like Anita Bryant and acts as though she’s been dipping into the thorazine.

Some general hamming keeps this one grounded firmly in the arena of community theater, so don’t set your hopes too high. But under Judy Heiliger’s direction, it’s an entertaining thriller delivered with building tension and all the requisite improbable plot twists leading to the horrible denouement.

* WHERE AND WHEN

“Night Watch” will be performed through Dec. 1 at the Seaside Theatre in Carpinteria at 8 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays, except Thanksgiving, with a special 2 p.m. Sunday matinee on Dec. 1. Tickets are $6-$8. Call (805) 684-6380 for reservations or information.