Theater Review: 'The Butler Did It' at The Arts at Angeloria's

Review by Connecticut Critics Circle member Nancy Sasso Janis

“The Butler Did It” is a comedy murder mystery written by Tim Kelly. Ed Rosenblatt directs this madcap adventure at The Arts at Angeloria’s in Southington. Artistic Director Lori Holm works as the show’s producer and credits her husband with the unique and hysterical twists that he has built into this production.

The playwright, who wrote over three hundred plays, earned his masters in playwriting from Yale University. He died in 1998.

This comedy parodies every English mystery play ever written: but it has a decidedly American flair. Miss Maple, a dowager with a reputation for "clever" weekend parties, invites a group of detective writers to eerie Ravenswood Manor on an island off the coast of San Francisco where they are to impersonate their fictional characters. There are secret passageways, secret identities, and secret pasts in this well-crafted script.

The hostess has arranged all sorts of amusing incidents: a mysterious voice on the radio, a menacing face at the window, a mad killer on the loose. Then a real murder takes place, and Miss Maple is outraged. She offers an immense reward to the "detective" who can bring the killer to justice. And what an assortment of zany would-be sleuths.

Audience members might recognize Sherlock Holmes, Agatha Christie's Miss Marple, Nick and Nora, Philip Marlowe, Charlie Chan, Father Brown, and other great detectives in this fun-filled 1940's production.

The cast members work well together to tell this fast-paced tale, showing fine comic timing and even greater natural instincts and caring. The director praises his cast for this mixture of a good whodunnit and a zany comedy, writing that “it’s not easy for an actor to be serious and hilarious at the same time, but this extraordinarily talented cast has pulled it off completely.”

Patrick Cassidy returns to the Arts at Angeloria’s stage to portray the role of Rick Carlyle “amongst the hilarious twists and turns” of this play. Cassidy’s most recent roles include Brom Bones in "Sleepy Hollow", Billy Carawe in "Play On!", and Laurie in "Little Women".

Melissa Scanlon plays Charity Haze in her first role since high school and her official debut in community theatre as an adult, made extra special because she gets to share the stage with her dad, Enfield resident Ed Scanlon who plays Father White. The elder Scanlon is thrilled—and slightly amazed—to be making his acting debut in the role and does very well.

Jim Snow takes on the role of Louie Fan. An acting veteran, Jim has been part of the Passion Play in Southington and also served on the production team for The A@A's production of “The Who's Tommy.”

Kelly Lazenby plays the role of Laura. Lazenby moved to Connecticut last year from Oregon. She and her husband, Justin, had a theater company, Nutz-n-Boltz, for 20 years.

Cliff Gibson returns to The Arts at Angeloria’s to play the role of Peter Flimsey In his bio, he invites patrons to “come along and figure out the plot with us.”

Suzie Robertson plays Rita. Suzie is delighted to appear once again at her favorite venue, having previously portrayed Grandmother in The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Phyllis Montague in Play On last year. Robertson gives a polished performance.

Nick Demetriades plays Chandler Marlowe in his debut with The Arts at Angeloria's. He has also performed with The Castle Craig Players.

Alicia James makes her Arts at Angeloria’s debut in the role of Haversham A native of Washington state, she has acted regionally in theaters across Long Island and Connecticut. James’ debut at this venue is a memorable one.

The veteran performer Helen Malinka plays Miss Maple. This talented performer calls it kismet that she is playing Miss Maple after portraying Anguish Crispie in her debut A@A show, “The Crooked House Mystery” in 2017. In this mystery, Malinka has a lot to do and she does it well.

The producer doubled as designer of the wonderful period costumes and prop collector. The set design by Nathan Drake and Holm is precise in its detail, carefully constructed and somehow makes the intimate space look larger. Amber Drake is credited with creating the colorful book spines for the swinging bookcase and John Condon III for creating the 3D design of the three monkey figurines. Eric Carson works as tech director; strobe effects and gunshots are used during the performance.

“The Butler Did It” is performed in the black box on the Art’s at Angeloria’s campus. Be sure to explore the rest of the first floor of the magnificent Victorian home decorated for St. Patrick’s Day during intermission. TICKETS: angelorias.ludus.com

Coming up in May is “The Secret Garden” followed by “Puffs” in September.