NOTE: Something’s Afoot has been extended through August 27th

Something’s Afoot, a musical that spoofs the murder mystery genre, especially the works of Agatha Christie and her novel And Then There Were None, is one of those plays that can have a bit of tension before the curtain goes up. Musical spoofs can easily end up being played so over the top that they incite groans rather than laughter, so you might be holding your breath until the first musical number hits. Thankfully, from the moment the butler Clive, played by Gerald B. Browning, announces that “Lord Rancour is dead. Dinner is served,” you know you’re in for a great evening with Taproot Theatre’s production.

The play, which has been a favorite of small theatre companies for more than thirty years, and draws from a rich set of stock characters and plot points that fans of the mystery genre know so well, is a proven crowd pleaser if done right. Key to “doing it right” is to nail both the music and the stage timing, especially in a small theater setting such as Taproot, where mistakes will be obvious to everyone. This was just the second night for the play, which runs through August 13, and it was pretty much flawless.

The basic plot outline is that the unseen Lord Dudley Rancour has invited six people for a weekend at his estate on an island in the middle of a lake. As you can guess, the weekend turns deadly, and everyone has to figure out “whodunit.”

Among the characters are the black sheep nephew, Nigel (Ryan Childers), the family doctor (William Hamer), an elderly army colonel (Dale Bowers), a Grand Dame (Pat Sibley), an ingenue (Natalie Anne Moe) and, as must be obvious, a Miss Marple-like amateur detective, Miss Tweed (Jenny Cross). Add in the required uninvited guest (Ian Lindsay), the ditsy but saucy maid (Deanna Sarkar), the Cockney caretaker (Tim Tully) and the butler who did or didn’t do it, and you’ve got the needed ten characters to start tallying up bodies. Of course the story includes a lightning storm, flickering lights, explosions, poison gas, cut phone lines, etc. In other words, everything you expect from a mystery spoof is exactly what you get. To top it off, the cast more than capably belts out the eleven great musical numbers over the next two hours. No spoilers here, except to say that you’ll enjoy the performance.

Natalie Anne Moe and Jenny Cross. Photo by Erik Stuhaug.

Directed by Scott Nolte, the play’s production values match the performances. Again, a lot of things, from the choreography to the accents, have the potential to detract in this musical. There are some farcical elements here that won’t work unless the timing is spot on. Both the cast and the production team make it all satisfying. We know when the strings are being pulled and enjoy each moment.

Something’s Afoot premiered at the Alliance Theater in Atlanta in 1972, and after several other productions around the country, opened on Broadway at the Lyceum Theatre in May 1976, closing in July after after just 61 performances. After Broadway, it ran in London at the Ambassadors Theatre in 1977 and was nominated that year for the Olivier Award as Best Musical of the Year. Since then, it’s become somewhat of a staple of the dinner theater circuit, community and school drama groups and small professional theatre companies. There was even a television version, starring Jean Stapleton as Miss Tweed and Andy Gibb (!!) as Geoffrey, on Showtime in 1984. (Alas, just when you think that YouTube has everything, you find out it doesn’t have a clip of this.)

As noted earlier, it’s a crowd pleaser.

Something’s Afoot
Book, music & lyrics by James McDonald, David Vos & Robert Gerlach, additional music & musical consultation by Ed Linderman

WHEN: July 13-August 13 (Wednesday-Thursday, 7:30 p.m.; Friday-Saturday, 8 p.m.; Saturday matinees, 2 p.m.). Pay What You Can: July 20, 7:30 p.m. Post-play Discussions: Wednesday nights.

NOTE: Something’s Afoot has been extended through August 27th

WHERE: Taproot Theatre Company, 204 North 85th Street, Seattle, WA 98103

TICKETS: Tickets are available online at www.taproottheatre.org/buy-tickets/ and through Taproot Theatre’s box office, in person or by phone at 206.781.9707.

Musical numbers

Act I
A Marvelous Weekend
Something’s Afoot
Carry On – Miss Tweed
I Don’t Know Why I Trust You (But I Do)
The Man With the Ginger Moustache
Suspicious

Act II
The Legal Heir
You Fell Out of the Sky
Problematical Solution (The Dinghy Song)
I Owe It All
A New Day