From left are Kevin Baskette as Sidney and Rebecca Lapp as Myra. Sidney is a once successful writer who toys with the idea of murder in order to regain his faded fame.
From left are Matthew Mindeman, who plays the idealistic student Clifford, and Kevin Baskette, the burned out playwright who considers killing Clifford in order to steal his manuscript.
Emily Miller, left, portrays the lively Dutch psychic Helga ten Dorp who somehow gets wrapped up into the plot as she gives a reading to Myra, right, played by Rebecca Lapp.
Award-winning theater company Back Alley Productions invites the public to the Mars Theatre, 117 N. Chattanooga Street in LaFayette for their upcoming thriller, Ira Levin’s “Deathtrap.”
Performances are Friday and Saturday evenings at 7:30 p.m., with Sunday matinees at 2:30 p.m., from July 28 to August 6.
Tickets can be purchased 30 minutes before showtime at the theater box office, or online at www.BAPshows.com. Audience members are advised the show contains mild PG-level violence and language, and discussion of adult situations which may not be appropriate for younger children.
“Deathtrap” tells the story of Sidney Bruhl, a middle-aged, washed up playwright who receives a script in the mail from Clifford Anderson, a student at a seminar Sidney had conducted for aspiring playwrights.
Sidney immediately recognizes the script as a certain commercial hit.
“Levin’s script has a much more comical tone than the average thriller,” Director Zack Jordan said. “Aside from the engaging cat-and-mouse plot, the show also provides an abundance of laughs from the electric cast of the sarcastic Sidney, the longsuffering Myra, the idealistic Clifford, and the boisterous Dutch psychic Helga ten Dorp. Yes, there’s a psychic.”
Having recently authored a string of flops, Sidney is feeling the pressure to create another success, both for the sake of his reputation and his finances. At his longsuffering wife Myra’s suggestion, Sidney invites Clifford to collaborate with him under the guise of editing the play, while Sidney’s actual plan is to murder Clifford and steal his script. From there, the plot twists and turns, leading to an amusing and unexpected conclusion.
“Deathtrap is first and foremost a comedic thriller, giving audiences an opportunity to be surprised and entertained,” Mr. Jordan adds. “Beneath the surface, however, it invites viewers to ask themselves to what extent ends justify means and to what lengths they would go to in order to be successful.”
Tickets are $15 for general admission and $12 for students and seniors. For more information, visit
www.BAPshows.com or call 706-621-9129 or 706-621-2907.