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Theatre & Box Office |
Reprinted with permission of The Times of Northwest Indiana. Absolute Truth BY TIM SHELLBERG David Pera, director of Valparaiso's Community Theatre Guild's production of the black comedy "Little Murders," didn't have to work too hard to update the 35-plus-year-old script to modern times. "I wanted it set in the present, and all that it needed were little touches to some references," he said. "There's a scene in the original script where the mother talks about Tokyo and Korea, and I just updated that to Baghdad. The central theme of the story is as applicable now as it was 30-some years ago." Opening today and running through April 16, "Murders" tells the tale of the Newquists, an upscale, New York City-based family who struggle to cope with the trials and tribulations of their lives and the world around them. The play was penned by Jules Feiffer, once a Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist and satirist with the New Yorker who also penned the 1971 big-screen comedy "Carnal Knowledge." "Murders" made its debut on Broadway in 1968 before also making its way to cineplexes in 1971. Part of Community Theatre Guild's revival season, Pera directed "Murders" when it made its way to the stage in 1991. "It's kind of a slice of life sort of thing," Pera said. "It's a wacky show, and there's an absurdist nature to the whole thing. But on the other hand, there's a lot of truth to what's going on in our society, and even now." Heather McCalment, of LaPorte, plays daughter Patsy Newquist. She is joined onstage by a trio of Valparaisans: Deb Weiss, who plays her mother, Marjori, John Evans as her father, Carol Newquist, and Andy Urschel as her boyfriend, Alfred Chamberlain. "I'm very pleased with this really talented and motivated cast that I have," Pera said. "They work very hard, and they're really great to work with." Due to some adult themes and situations, "Little Murders" is not recommended for younger and sensitive audiences. Next up for the Community Theatre Guild is a production of the Tennessee Williams-penned "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof," which is scheduled to open May 20 at Chicago Street Theatre. "Little Murders" is running at Chicago Street Theatre at 8 tonight, Saturday, April 8, 9, 14, 15 and 16 and at 2:30 p.m. Sunday and April 10. onstage |
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