Fox Valley Rep's comic murder musical a true 'Treat'
Watching Fox Valley Repertory's new production of "No Way to Treat a Lady" is like uncovering a small, forgotten gem. Though not without some imperfections, this musical comedy thriller shines with laughs, spine-tingling chills and an engaging plot that is fun to rediscover.
"No Way to Treat a Lady" originally debuted in 1964 as a novel by Academy Award-winning Highland Park native William Goldman ("Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid," "The Princess Bride"). It was subsequently adapted into a starry 1968 feature film featuring Rod Steiger as the serial killer, George Segal as the detective pursuing him, Lee Remick as the love interest and Eileen Heckart as the detective's pushy Jewish mother.
These are essentially the main characters in playwright and composer Douglas Cohen's 1996 off-Broadway musical adaptation of "No Way to Treat a Lady." And each part offers lots of juicy moments for a quartet of actors - particularly the actress playing the Jewish mother, since she also doubles up as all the eccentric murder victims.
Cohen understandably injected in some extra razzmatazz to allow the characters to sing and dance, but his musical adaptation also skillfully keeps everything intimate and compact. Thus director John Gawlik's fun production fits beautifully at Pheasant Run Resort in St. Charles.
Reset to 1970 New York, "No Way to Treat a Lady" basically is about two grown men trying to escape the oversize influence of their distant or disapproving mothers.
Schlubby police detective Morris Brummell (Christopher Davis) still lives at home with his mother, Flora (Carol Rose Durkin), who is forever unfavorably comparing him to his more successful married physician brother. Yet Brummell starts to break free from Flora's entangling apron strings when the sophisticated and beautiful art gallery employee Sarah Stone (Kellie Cundiff) takes an initially unbelievable romantic interest in him.
But Brummel's mother issues pale in comparison to those of Christopher "Kit" Gill (Ryan Naimy), the son of a recently deceased grande dame stage actress. An unsuccessful actor who is unhealthily obsessed with publicity, Gill becomes a skilled serial killer who specializes in disguises in a misguided attempt to garner more notoriety (and newspaper column inches) than his late mother.
Much of the musical's macabre pleasure comes from seeing what crazy get-ups and personas Naimy as Gill will adopt in order to gain entry into the apartments of his unsuspecting victims. The heart of the show comes from the endearing and lovely romance that blossoms between Davis as Brummell and Cundiff as Stone. The biggest laughs deservedly belong to Durkin's amusing takes on all her oversized characters - especially the stereotypically guilt-inducing Jewish mother Flora.
Where audiences might be disappointed in the show is Brummell's frustratingly underplayed investigative skills, especially compared to how prominently they are featured on current TV police procedurals. Cohen's adaptation also delivers songs that sometimes hold up the action or overstay their welcomes.
But if there are inherent flaws in "No Way to Treat a Lady," director Gawlik and his production team skillfully do their best to conceal them. Kimberly G. Morris' period costumes stylishly mesh well with the symbolic New York unit set in washed-out grays by designer Dan P. Conley. Marley Wooster's lighting design deploys unsettling splashes of red and also builds great atmosphere with Michael Stanfill's location-defining projection designs.
With "No Way to Treat a Lady," Fox Valley Repertory has produced a winning and involving show that plays to the company's current strengths. And since the musical isn't overly familiar, that makes its many surprises all the more satisfying.
“No Way to Treat a Lady”
★ ★ ★
Location: Fox Valley Repertory at Pheasant Run Resort, 4051 E. Main St., St. Charles, (630) 584-6342 or
Showtimes: 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday, also 8 p.m. Feb. 12 and 19 and 2 p.m. March 5; through March 8
Tickets: $32-$42; dinner and overnight packages available
Running time: Two hours and 15 minutes with intermission
Parking: Nearby free lots
Rating: Scenes of violence and tame implied sexual situations