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<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt" class=MsoNormal
align=center><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Sherlock
meets Shylock in CVLT’s <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">The Maltese
Bodkin</I><?xml:namespace prefix = o ns =
"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Bob
Abelman<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">News-Herald,
Chagrin Valley Times, Solon Times, Geauga Times
Courier<o:p></o:p></SPAN></I></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Member,
International Association of Theatre Critics <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></I></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt" class=MsoNormal
align=center><SPAN
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">This
review appeared in the <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Times </I>papers
1/21/10</SPAN><SPAN
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">The Maltese
Bodkin</SPAN></I><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">, on stage at the
Chagrin Valley Little Theatre through February 6, is a labradoodle of a
play.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">It is an odd yet
intriguing merging of two opposites that neither God nor nature had ever
intended to unite.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Playwright David
Belke has combined Shakespearian tragedies and film noir crime dramas to create
a comedic murder mystery.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">In <I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">The Maltese Bodkin</I>, a hardboiled, 1940s
private eye named Birnam Wood and his quick talking, tough-as-nails secretary
Charlotte are inexplicably in 17<SUP>th</SUP> century London attempting to solve
the mysterious murder of Wood’s partner. <SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Falstaff, Mistress Quickly, Donalbain,
Rozencrantz and Guildenstern serve as aides, snitches and sidekicks. <SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The lineup of suspects includes Viola,
Richard III, Iago, Mercutio and Catesby.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">This is no parody and
it is no spoof.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>It is a piece of
pastiche, which pays homage to other works by earnestly copying their
style.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>It is very silly pastiche.
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Subtle references to
Shakespeare’s better known quotes are infused into Wood’s tough-guy jargon, and
modern-day sensibilities give rise to funny interpretations of the Bard-flavored
verbiage spoken by this assortment of literary characters.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Even our hero’s name is a Shakespearean
in-joke as well as a clue to figuring out who hath done the deed most foul.
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Yes, this is one
strange and convoluted ride.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>However, it promises to be a good ride if all that is Elizabethan in
Shakespeare’s tragedies and all that is Sam Spadesque in film noir crime dramas
is recognized and embraced.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>I</SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN"
lang=EN>t is the </SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">clash between the
extreme opposites of these worlds that makes this play a potentially interesting
production. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Despite some terrific
acting by the CVLT’s ensemble of players, neither director David Malinowski nor
set designer Edmond Wolff provide the necessary production and performance
juxtapositions to make this play succeed.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>The contrasts in these genres serve as mere window dressing when they
should be a significant part of the storytelling.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">The short, staccato
sentences spoken by our<SPAN style="COLOR: black"> </SPAN>no-nonsense<SPAN
style="COLOR: black"> noir </SPAN>hero in response to the rambling, flowery
soliloquies of the pompous population of 17<SUP>th</SUP> century denizens is a
funny bit of business.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Yet, this is
not played for laughs, as the playwright intended.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">The play repeatedly
jumps back and forth from Wood’s modern office to various Shakespearean
locations, creating a running gag of <SPAN style="COLOR: black">dueling
domains</SPAN> as <SPAN style="COLOR: black">members of one world enter into the
foreign world of the other.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Yet, no
genre-specific lighting or genre-defining soundtracks are employed to establish
a</SPAN> classic shadow-drenched, smoke-filled environment for our <SPAN
style="COLOR: black">Humphrey Bogart </SPAN>equivalent or regal and
well-appointed realms for our John Barrymore <SPAN
style="COLOR: black">clones.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The
running gag trips and falls short.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">These and other
missed opportunities leave the audience with plenty of clever wordplay but not
enough playing.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">The performers do
their best with this material and its staging.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Bobby Thomas, as our hero, </SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">looks
and sounds as if he just stepped out of 70-year-old celluloid.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>So too does his girl Friday</SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">, played by the
charming Amy Pelleg.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Fifteen
different Shakespearean characters are portrayed<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>by Dan Jacobsen, Kacey Durbin, Mark
DePompei, Yvonne Pilzarczyk, Roger Atwell, Nate Earley and Rollin DeVere, who do
so marvelously.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Unfortunately, this
doubling and tripling of roles creates undue confusion in a murder mystery, as
suspects and sidekicks share the same face.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Wonderful period costuming by Craig
Tucker help distinguish one character from the next, but audience members will
be scouring their programs for assistance nonetheless.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Combining
Shakespearian tragedies and film noir crime dramas is certainly an intriguing
notion.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Clearly, the play’s the
thing.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>But in this CVLT production
of <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">The Maltese Bodkin,</I> it don’t
amount to a hill of beans.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">For
tickets call 440-247-8955 or visit <B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><A
href=""><FONT
color=#0000ff>www.cvlt.org</FONT></A>.</B><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>