THEATER REVIEW:’Stage Struck’ is a cerebral thriller

The always dependable Colony Theatre Company has another winner on its hands with “Stage Struck,” Simon Gray’s dryly witty thriller about survival of the most cunning. From the moment this slick and fast-moving production gets underway, it’s obvious there’s a different kind of mystery brewing. Not quite a whodunit, “Stage Struck” is more of a “who’s going to do it and how will they get away with it?”

The extremely British wordplay comes off as too cerebral at times, draining some of the fun from the proceedings. Luckily, a top-notch cast and crew, directed by Rick Sparks, adds zest to spice up jokes that go over the heads of many sitting in the audience.

Robert (Louis Lotorto) is a semi-retired actor and stage manager spending the better part of every day tending to the affairs of wife, Anne (Mary Gordon Murray), a well-known West End actress. Robert appears perfectly satisfied putting his own career on hold to play house-husband for a woman who can’t seem to pay a bill, read a script or even cook a meal without his help. But seven years into this unspoken arrangement, the cracks in their wedded bliss are beginning to show.

Speeding matters along is the tenant staying in the cottage behind their rural home. Herman (Kevin Symons) is a wide-eyed American who pops in one day to ask for advice regarding his involvement with a married woman. That this innocent hick ends up being more devious that he first appears is just one of the many surprises in store as the play zips forward. I don’t want to spoil any of the twists and turns, but count on loud gunshots and spurting blood to add vivid color to every shocking revelation.

Kurt Boetcher’s magnificent set design makes a simple living room a window into Robert’s mind, where life’s always a stage and we are merely players. The doors to other rooms seem like backstage entrances to some imaginary theater and the entire set is flanked by “dressing rooms” barely visible behind scrims. At any given moment, actors not in that particular scene can be seen applying makeup or listening to the play on monitors while waiting for their cues.

The acting is solid throughout, but Larry Cedar truly stands out in a small but juicy part as an unlicensed psychoanalyst drawn into the increasingly sticky web of revenge and deceit.

If everyone else sank their teeth in as deep, “Stage Struck” might have transformed into a ripping good yarn like Ira Levin’s “Deathtrap.” As it is now, it’s more thoughtful and intriguing, a dark comedy thriller that slowly wins you over with its intelligence. It’s just not as exciting plumbing the depths of the human psyche as it is tracking down a murderer.