PLAY REVIEW: Dead On Arrival Live and Kicking

Madcap murder reigns at Shorecrest High this weekend.

In all, a prodigious event took place:  A high school student wrote a play commanding ninety minutes of stage time.  Another high school student directed it.  And a teacher fostered the environment in which they could artistically risk.

Tommy Heffernan's Dead On Arrival is a comic murder mystery complete with colorful characters, switchback turns of plot and, no less, secret passages.

Heffernan displays an adept mastery of language, surprising for his youth.  His greatest gift as a playwright is his fertile imagination.  He is able to create a wide variety of vivid characters engaged in an almost dizzying series of plot twists.

Heffernan's challenge?  To keep his plot twists from undermining the integrity of the characters he has so lovingly created.

Katie Peabody's direction is self-assured.  With so much ado in plots such as these, traffic control is key.  Her lightest of touches was evident as she brought out the best in her cast.

Indeed, some of the most delightful moments of the show featured physical comedy so exacting, it was clearly accomplished only through rigorous rehearsal.  

Peabody's challenge? Exploring that great emotional range between silence and shouting.  After all, after a while, more yelling is just that: more yelling.

The cast, as a whole, is so strong in their performances that it seems almost unfair to single any out.  

Yet, in terms of sheer concentration and focus, two stand out: Lindsey Elvig's Parisian coquette Cherie and Amy Williams' waspishly contrarian Professor.  

These are two actors who know how to construct characters so carefully thought through, so compelling, the mind never quite leaves them even as the action moves elsewhere.

David Leathers' Everyman Norm Banks also stood out.  Though, because he is so clearly capable, I kept regretting that he didn't explore more of the deeper human qualities Heffernan wrote into his character.

Also, a special nod to the demanding physical comedy of Jordan Schultz's Marshal.  In truth, however, I never understood how the elderly soldier Heffernan wrote could bound around the stage with the exuberance of a teenager.

Robin Obourn's costuming was excellent.  With a few exceptions, such as Benson's hem lines and the fit of Norm's coat, her choice of colors and shapes teased the eye throughhout.  

Charlie Weber's lighting design started off on the hopeful note of two haunting window panes teetering across the floor of the stage.  Alas, it never really went beyond there.  

The set (no designer mentioned) was everything it needed to be to support this zany plot.

Lastly, a special nod to theatre teacher Andy Kidd who believes so much in his students that they may artistically stretch themselves to such lengths.

The show closes this weekend, so if you miss it, remember the names.  These are dramatists who are going places.