In this iteration,pulp-fiction writer William Magee, expertly played by Brian Vaughn, hopes toisolate himself at a northern Wisconsin resort called Slaughter Peakto win a bet with his rich friend, Mr. Bently, by producing a new mystery novel%uFFFDwithin24 hours.
Though he thinkshe has the only key to the resort, Magee soon discovers there are six others inthe hands of an odd assortment of surprise visitors who keep cropping upinopportunely with an increasingly weird set of motifs and cross-purposes.There is a corrupt mayor (Steve Pickering) who expects a $20,0000 bribe from acrooked railroad official (Jonathan Gillard Daly). Also on hand are gangsterLou Max (brilliantly played by Gerard Neugent) and his disreputable,blackmailing girlfriend, Myra(a spiky Deborah Staples). And then comes Mary Hitchcock, a sweet reporter whoonly wants a story on the playwright, along with her mother Alice Hitchcock(the redoubtable Laura Gordon). This odd assortment interacts bizarrely, asfrom a parallel universe.
Throughout, Mageekeeps reciting hilariously banal, amateurish descriptions that sound likeportions of his novel to be. It soon becomes apparent that the unwieldy,outlandish, sometimes confusing first act is, in fact, the novel itself. Thereare shootings, bodies and absurd plot configurationsuntil the audiencerealizes it is being taken on a joy ride that is almost too good to be true.Creative absurdity is the benchmark of its biting satire, zanily reminiscent ofthe Marx Brothers, with a touch of Tarantino thrown in for good measure.Hanreddy’s spiffy writing carries the day without slacking.
There are too manygood performances to list, but Lee Ernst as the caretaker, Torrey Hanson as athug and Peter Silbert as a hermit deserve attention among a talented cast. Allin all this is a memorable send-off for director Joseph Hanreddy. He will bemissed.
