Community Theatre Detectives

There’s still work being done on the area around Whitefish Bay’s high school auditorium. Thankfully, it was quite warm and cozy anyway for last night’s pick-up rehearsal of Bay Players’ production of The Butler Did It. The comic Tim Kelly murder-mystery is a really good choice for one of the most established community theatres in the state. A comedy about a bunch of mystery writers trying to solve a real-life murder mystery is charming enough, but a professional production of the show with Equity actors would invariably involve younger performers. The cast for the Bay Players’ production features local community theatre veterans. At least one gentleman in the cast has been with the Bay Players for nearly three decades. 

There are a few newer talents here that show some promise.  Greg Ryan plays a Ralph McInerny-inspired mystery-solving Priest. Relatively new to the stage, Ryan isn’t as young as one might expect from a stage newcomer, but with a mini bio that also mentions classes at with The Rep, Ryan is taking acting seriously and it shows in the level of poise he had for the rehearsal. Relatively young East Side career banker Eric Stein makes his first theatrical appearance in the show after a number of appearances with ComedySportz. He plays a Ricka wealthy socialite character aided by his wife and, I would imagine co-writer. She’s played by the similarly young Stacy Kolafa, who teaches Spanish at the Milwaukee High School of the Arts.    

Tim Kelly’s The Butler Did It originally appeared in the mid-‘90’s but it feels much older than that. The style of comedy feels very Neil Simon-inspired. It’s the feel of a mid-century comedy wrapped around satirical characters based on mystery sleuths who have largely been around for much longer than that. The Butler Did It may not be from 1953, but it feels like it is. The mystery writers have all arrived at a party in character as the heroes they write aboutall based on classic mystery sleuth templates. Thirty year Bay Plyers Veeran Tom Zuegner plays a Sherlock Holmes-like character. Retiree Greg Valentine plays a Charlie Chan-like character. Jim Huston plays a gumshoe detective. Jane Preston is the Agatha Christie Miss Marple at the center of it all who invited everyone. Yes, there are plot twists. Things turn out in the end. The script isn’t quite up to the challenge of bringing all these characters together, but show’s Director Raymond Bradford and company have fun with it. On the pick-up rehearsal last night, that fun projected off the stage quite respectably. 

The Bay Players’ production of Time Kelly’s The Butler Did It continues through Saturday, the 21^st at Whitefish Bay High School Auditorium. For more info, call the players at 414-299-9040.