Sets not the only thing good about ‘Sleuth’

By ROGER SMITH

August 13, 2008 05:51 pm

— MADISON — First impressions count – sometimes.
When I took my seat at Rabbit Run Theater for their final summer ‘08 production, “Sleuth,” I thought that if the show is half as impressive as the stage then the audience is in for a real treat. I wasn’t wrong on that count.
“Sleuth,” a whodunit set in merry old England, is a mystery with more twists than a Chubby Checker record at a high school sock hop.
The first act of the show walked us through the perfect murder, committed by mystery writer Andrew Wyke. Brint Learned, in the role of Wyke, effected a character that is probably the pictorial epitome of how readers see the Lord of an English country house.
The murder victim, Milo Tindle (played by Paul Felden) had been invited to the country home to discuss his affair with Wyke’s wife, Marguerite. Felden gave a truly emotion-wrenching performance as the man who slowly realized he was being set up for the kill. The act ended with Wyke firing his pistol shot into Tindle at close range. The stage was set: will the local constabulary be able to solve the mystery?
The second act opens with the arrival of Inspector Doppler, a disheveled Columbo type character who begins to pick apart the crime in question, and within minutes has placed Andrew Wyke under arrest. Doppler was played by Alec Cawthorne; this was Cawthorne’s first time on the Rabbit Run Stage, and he did his character justice.
Lest I give away the ending, let me just stop with the story line and say that this show is of the same high quality that has been on the barn theater’s stage this entire summer. Learned, Felden and Cawthorne did outstanding jobs in their roles. Others listed in the cast/crew biographies (Alan Smithee and John Matthews) have been at Rabbit Run before. Though their roles as police persons were minor, they were important to the plot: there are no small roles.
Everything about “Sleuth” was done with style. The set was superb, costumes were perfect, and the technical aspects of the production were professional. This 2 1/2-hour show is a great way to wind down yet another successful season at one of Ohio’s few remaining barn playhouses, Rabbit Run Theater on Chapel Road in Madison.
“Sleuth” continues today, Saturday and Sunday at 8 p.m. and next weekend. Curtain time is 8. Tickets may be ordered at the RRT box office, 440-428-7092.

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