Details detract from Citadel Theatre's 'Deathtrap'
In a pre-curtain speech, Citadel Theatre Company artistic director Scott Phelps beseeched the opening night audience at “Deathtrap” not to be spoilers by revealing any of the show's suspenseful twists and turns. Otherwise they might ruin the masterfully entwined surprises in Ira Levin's 1978 Broadway hit, which is in many ways the apotheosis of American stage thrillers.
Phelps' request is a valid one, since Citadel Theatre's take on “Deathtrap” shows that it still has the power to startle and jolt unsuspecting audiences. That's even with Levin's cloyingly self-aware dialogue that signposts basic thriller conventions while also name-dropping other successful examples of the genre (like “Dial ‘M' for Murder” from 1952, which will open in a new production this month at the Metropolis Performing Arts Centre in Arlington Heights). The play script even hints at a future movie version of “Deathtrap” starring Michael Caine, which became a reality in 1982.
“Deathtrap” takes place entirely in the home of thriller playwright Sidney Bruhl (Chuck Quinn) in Westport, Conn. Bruhl and his wife, Myra (Elizabeth Rude), are facing severe financial difficulties since he hasn't had a Broadway hit for a long time.
So when they get ahold of a dynamic new thriller script called “Deathtrap” by first-time playwright Clifford Anderson (Neil Phelps), Sidney starts to contemplate murder so he can pass the piece off as his own work — despite the protestations of Myra, who insists that her husband find a way of collaborating instead.
Citadel Theatre Company's “Deathtrap” certainly works on an audience, and it's fun to hear how it still can make viewers collectively gasp and groan as its dastardly characters scheme, strangle and stab to reach the comically grisly conclusion. Yet, I wasn't fully convinced by all of Citadel's casting and some of director Pat Murphy staging choices for “Deathtrap.”
I wanted more desperation and seething envy from Quinn as Sidney, seeing as how his character is pushed to devise a murder plot to salvage his reputation and financial situation. And as the neighboring Dutch psychic Helga Ten Dorp, who helps police investigations with her ESP, Tehilla Newman was far too comically broad and cartoonlike for my tastes.
In staging “Deathtrap,” Murphy's use of underscored music at key moments as lighting designer Zoe Mikel Stites bathes the set in demonic red and blue light is debatable. It's clear that Murphy is trying to ratchet up the suspense and horror, but these moments only made the tense situations comically artificial and blunt (the fact that one of the music selections features modern synthesized instrumentation incongruous to the play's time period was also an issue).
Other anachronistic distractions crop up in the props designed by Robin Miller. The crucial handcuffs supposedly owned by master escape artist Harry Houdini didn't look at all to be antique like the dialogue suggests. The cuffs' chain also broke on opening night, though Phelps as Clifford covered well for this mishap.
Another issue was the all-too modern plastic ginger ale bottle used by Myra, which took you out of the show's 1970s period setting — especially with the script's constant references to the number of script copies existing in typed-up carbon form.
Aside from these minor details, Citadel Theatre's “Deathtrap” is still largely effective. Set designer Eric Luchen's weapons-filled study is appropriately menacing, while the majority of the performances are spot on, including Citadel's new managing director Steve Malone in the small, plot-advancing role of Sidney's envious lawyer Porter Milgrim.
If you've never seen “Deathtrap,” Citadel's production will most definitely startle despites its minor flaws.
And then clam up so you won't spoil the surprises for others.
“Deathtrap”
★ ★ ½
<b>Location: </b>Citadel Theatre Company at West Campus, 300 S. Waukegan Road, Lake Forest. (847) 735-8554, <a href="http://citadeltheatre.org">citadeltheatre.org</a>
<b>Showtimes:</b> 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday; 3 p.m. Sunday through Oct. 5. Also 11 a.m. Sept. 17
<b>Tickets: </b>$35-$37.50
<b>Running time: </b>About two hours and 15 minutes with intermission
<b>Parking:</b> Free adjacent lot
<b>Rating:</b> Sudden violence and plot twists might upset some viewers.