Review: 'Deadline' an Engrossing, Bewildering Good Time

"Deadline," now being presented at the Arctic Playhouse, is billed as a murder mystery comedy. Playwright Don Zolidis succeeds in using – and sending up – well worn storytelling clichés.

The end result is a pure delight, an engrossing story with some standout performances and meticulously rendered set design.

A group of mystery writers have gathered in the secluded ocean estate of legendary author Vera Braxton. They are participating in the "Deadline Challenge," a contest to see who can solve a murder within a 24-hour period. The winner gets a book deal.

Braxton's loyal butler, Dellacroix (Edmund Carlton), lays out the rules of the game for the guests – an eclectic assortment of personalities.

There's the perky Penelope (Laurel Birch), a social media addict; husband and wife Deborah and Greg (Elizabeth Nelson and Ryan Vigneau); and Zak (Adam Oteri), a rather dimwitted college student. The action takes place in the living room, which is adorned with various implements of death. Guns, knives, and axes hang on a wall, there's a shelf full of bottles of deadly poisons, and spiders fill a terrarium.

There's also a hidden passageway behind a bookcase, which I guess comes in handy when you're planning to murder someone. The tension escalates. Insults are flung. A weapon goes missing. Then the lights go out.

Not surprisingly, someone has a knife in their back before the end of Act One.

There are lots of outsized personalities and absurd plot developments as this band of lunatics scheme to win the "Deadline Challenge." Nothing is as it seems.

Director Jeffrey Massery, who has acted in several Arctic productions, steers his huge cast through this absurd story with great skill and confidence.

Michael Pugliese ("All My Sons") is outstanding as the ultra-macho Carswell Chalmers, the author of several hardboiled detective novels. Carswell also serves as a narrator, using a series of utterly wretched metaphors to describe what is unfolding around him.

Eileen Goretaya is a campy blast as the sultry Vampetta, a mistress of the macabre. Clad in black, Vampetta is a knock-off of Anne Rice, the author of best-selling vampire novels.

Allison Krebs makes a stunning stage debut as Jennifer, the author of a series of murder mysteries set in a small Vermont town. Krebs exhibits a vibrant and offbeat persona, and she and Goretaya are tremendous fun as they trade catty put-downs. "Relax, Morticia," Jennifer tells Vampetta.

Sidney Robinson is also fabulous as Bella, the dour barista wishing she could be anywhere else in the world. Let's just say she won't be hired by Starbucks anytime soon.

Last, but not least, there's Rose Racine ("Lie, Cheat, and Genuflect") as the mysterious Brenda, and Katherine Kimmel as a mysterious ferry-boat captain. No spoilers here.

The success of "Deadline" depends on whether or not you have an appreciation for the murder mystery conventions that are being parodied. The plot twists and turns so much the average theatergoer is likely to have whiplash when the show ends. I'm not even certain it all makes sense. Maybe that was intentional on Zolidis' part; I don't really know.

What I do know is the pleasure of seeing a talented group of actors working to the best of their ability. They were having fun, and I was having fun watching them.

"Deadline" runs through March 9 at The Arctic Playhouse, 1249 Main Street, West Warwick, RI. For tickets, call 401-573-3443 or visit thearcticplayhouse.com.