Theater Review—

Creaky But Fun ‘Laura’ Marks A Directorial Debut At Little Theatre

By Julie Stern

Fans of old black and white noir movies remember the joy of watching detective Dana Andrews fall in love with Gene Tierney as Laura, the beautiful woman whose murder he is investigating. Her bloody corpse found shot to death in the doorway of her apartment is what brought Andrews onto the case, but it is her riveting portrait, hung above the fireplace, that draws the hard boiled policeman ineluctably under her spell.

Detective McPherson has never married, because, as he says, he’s never met the right woman. But as he gazes at her picture and hears accounts of her goodness, kindness, and wit from her fiancé –  the impoverished southern gentleman, Shelby Carpenter; her neighbor and benefactor, the effetely affected newspaper columnist, Waldo Lydecker; and Danny Dorgan, the besotted son of the building superintendent – it becomes clear that Laura Hunt, the lady in red, would have been the girl for him, if only she hadn’t had her head blown off.

How this situation got resolved – and the revelation of the murderer’s motive and identity – made this Vera Caspary thriller a favorite for late night TV or revival house audiences.

Not everyone knows that it was also made into play as well, by Caspary working together with George Sklar, and it is this work that is being presented by the Town Players at Newtown’s Little Theater.

It takes three acts to get to the denouement and this makes it a bit long, as well as a little creaky, under the guidance of first time director Charlie Cowles. The performers work very hard at their task, however, and if the results are a little uneven, well, they’re having fun.

Joseph Koproski carries the play in the role of the bemused McPherson, who has a metal plate where his tibia should be, courtesy of a gun battle with a gangster on Long Island.

Laura Porcelli is sensitive and nervous as a wisecracking girl who appears in the second half of the play to add spice to the plot. T.J. Chila is properly scatterbrained as Laura’s devoted cook, and Walker LaVardera bristles with adolescent truculence as Danny.

Christopher Bird maintains a consistent southern accent as Shelby, but he needs a little more fire to make him a viable candidate for Laura’s attentions. Similarly, Steve Hoose might have benefited from a few more rehearsals to get his lines and character perfected in the part of Waldo, but I saw the show on opening night and I’m sure they have polished up their performances by this weekend.

Maureen Kelly is a shrill meanie as Danny’s mother, who fears that Laura has corrupted her son’s values by introducing the musical prodigy to the lure of jazz, and Michael A. Koproski is a stalwart policeman, carrying out his boss’s instructions. (Performances continue at the Orchard Hill Road theater on weekends until September 29.

Call 270-9144 for performance details and reservations.)