STRANGERS ON A TRAIN / THEATRE 40

Review by Guest Critic Saratoga Ballantine

Theatre Forty is a busy bunch with their recent production of  The Manor followed closely by Craig Warner's "Strangers on a Train."

 Having been a fan of the Hitchcock film with Farley Granger and Robert Walker, I was eager to see how  “Strangers on a Train” would be presented on stage at Theatre 40 in Beverly Hills. 

Interestingly,  the play was more inclined to lean towards the original story by Patricia Highsmith. If you are familiar with “The Talented Mr. Ripley”, you have a sense of the penchant Highsmith has for complicated plots and psychopathic anti-heroes..

We are introduced to our two leading men who indeed are strangers.  They meet on a train, which we thoroughly believe thanks to  the screen projection behind two cushy chairs center stage, designed by the always creative Jeff G. Rack.

It's impossible to miss how different the two characters are. Charles Bruno (MIchael Mullen) is not just the chattier of the two, but also the more obvious drinker.   Guy Haines (Joe Clabby) presnets an ambitious bespeckled architect  in the midst of a divorce. He's reading philosophy.  Slowly, with endless questions and hip flask always pouring, Bruno draws Guy out of his shell. 

 As the train hurtles to their destination, they begin to speculate on what it would be like to commit the perfect murder.

I found myself getting a little creeped out as the story unfolded!

Bruno is a Mama’s Boy who resents his father for withholding his allowance, and has an almost unholy relationship with his former show-girl mother,  deliciously sensual  Sharron Shayne. Their scenes together reveal even more of Bruno’s drinking problem, and deep psychological issues.

 

Guy goes home to his fiancé, Anne (Anica Petrovic) who is impatiently counting the days until Guy’s divorce is final so they can be wed. Anne's wardrobe was exquisite, and right on point for the 50’s.  Michael Mullen is also credited with the play's excellent costume design.

In a nutshell,  a murder is committed by the end of Act 1!  Act II sends us on an even darker ride, exploring how a serendipitous meeting on a train has now irrevocably linked Bruo and Guy together.

The rest of the cast includes: Todd Andrew Ball as Frank Myers), Michael Kerr as Best Man at the wedding of Anne and Guy (Robert Treacher) and the totally believable private eye Arthur Gerard well timed with humor and great skill by Larry Eisenberg. Gerard puts all the puzzle pieces together,

 Director, Jules Aaron, with countless plays under his belt, directs  with his usual savvy. The tension builds to the very end.  Some of us in the audience were visibly shaken as we left the theatre!!

 Cast: 

Todd Andrew Ball, Michael Mullen, Sharron Shayne, Anicia Petrovich, Michael Kerr, Joe Clabby, and Larry Eisenberg.

 Crew:

Stage manager: Paul Reid. Set design: Jeff G. Rack. Costume design: Michael Mullen. Lighting design: Derrick McDaniel. Sound design: Nick Foran.

Stramgers on A Train

by  Craig Warner

Directed by  Jules Aaron

Theatre Forty 

241 S, Moreno Drive

Mary Levin Cutler Theatre 

 Beverly Hills, CA 90212. 

January 18-February 18, 2024. 

Thursdays through Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. Sundays at 2:00 p.m.

ADMISSION: $35.

RESERVATIONS: (310) 364-0535.

ONLINE TICKETING: http://theatre40.org