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Bowie Community Theatre A Little Murder Never Hurt Anybody

By • Oct 12th, 2008 • Category: Reviews

Listen to our review of Bowie Community Theatre’s production of A Little Murder Never Hurt Anybody [MP3 2:37 2.4MB].

A Little Murder Never Hurt Anybody
Bowie Community Theatre
Bowie City Hall, Bowie, MD
$15/$10 Seniors and Students
Through October 18th

This is the ShowBiz Radio Review of A Little Murder Never Hurt Anybody, performed by the Bowie Community Theatre in Bowie, Maryland. We saw the performance on Saturday evening, October 11, 2008.

A Little Murder Never Hurt Anybody is a play by Ronald Jay. Matthew Perry resolves to murder his wife, Julia, before the next New Year and tells her so. She vows to stay alive and so the game begins – a hilarious year long match of wits. While Julia dodges Matthew’s attempts, friends and staff start mysteriously dying all around them. Have the tables been turned? What about the Butler? Is this a Murder Most Foul or a Murder Most Fouled Up?

This was a funny comedy that had some snappy verbal sparring. Yet sometimes the pacing of the show was not as funny as it could have been. Some of the actors had problems with their lines and were unexpressive. However, the audience seemed to enjoy themselves.

Greg Anderson played the head of the household Matthew Perry. His mission in life was to kill his wife. He brought some great expressions and quick wit to the role. His flat description of his dreams of how he should live his mid-life crisis was so matter of fact and self-centered that the audience was on his side. But then his wife Julia, played by Cathy L. Barth, fought back with her own dry wit. She had sweeping gestures and a rather condescending air towards just about everyone. The couple was very evenly matched creating a great deal of tension as the year advanced.

The calmest person of the evening was the butler Buttram played amusingly by Rick Hall. He had perfected the appearance of sheer boredom throughout most of the evening. The only time he seemed to show any emotion was when referring to his wife who had left him several years ago.

The Bowie Community Theatre’s home is currently undergoing renovations so this production took place at the Bowie City Hall. The set was small, but made skillful use of the limited space available on the stage. The Set Designer was Garrett Hyde. The Halloween costumes were well done and personified the characters. The Costume Consultant was Linda Kirby, who also directed the show.

A Little Murder Never Hurt Anybody ran two hours with one intermission. It is playing one more weekend, Friday and Saturday at 8 PM at the Bowie City Hall in Bowie, Maryland.

Once you’ve seen the show, please feel free to leave a comment here on our website at ShowBiz Radio.net. We’d also like to invite you to join our free mailing list so you can stay informed with theater events in the DC Region.

And now, on with the show.

Cast

  • Matthew Perry: Greg Anderson
  • Buttram: Rick Hall
  • Julia Perry: Kathy L. Barth
  • Bunny Perry: Carrie Garrett
  • Donald: Lucas English
  • Plotnik: Michael Rogers

Crew

  • Producer: Joanne Bauer
  • Director: Linda Kirby
  • Stage Manager: Rose English
  • Set Designer: Garrett Hyde
  • Set Construction Supervisor: Cynthia Bentley
  • Set Construction Crew: Friends of BCT
  • Set Painting: Cynthia Bentley
  • Set Decorating/Dressing: Janice Coffey
  • Properties: Gloria Schneider
  • Light Designer: Garrett Hyde
  • Sound Designer: Garrett Hyde
  • Costume Consultant: Linda Kirby
  • Theater Technicians: Garrett Hyde, Al Chopey and Pete Dursin
  • Technical Assistant: Mike Dunlop
  • Photographer: Bentley Photographic
  • Videographer: Dove Video
  • Program Designer: Debbie Samek
  • Advertising/Publicity: Janice Coffey
  • Webmaster: Myron Cramer
  • House Manager: Joanne Bauer
  • Lobby Designer: Janice Coffey
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