A crazy collection of outrageous characters are the hilarious highlights of “Something’s Afoot” being presented by the Performing Arts Department at Cedar Crest College.
Timing is everything is this manic musical murder mystery Oct. 1 to 4 at Samuels Theater, Cedar Crest College, 100 College Drive, Allentown.
The satirical murder-mystery musical spoofs the works of Agatha Christie, particularly her classic 1939 novel “And Then There Were None.”
The talented ensemble keeps the laughs coming with their clever portrayals of ten eccentric personalities who find themselves stranded in an isolated English country estate after the lord of the manor has been murdered. In this outrageous spoof, the guests scramble to discover whodunit as they one-by-one fall victim, one by one, to a series of bizarre traps and devices.
Mark Ingram is humorously uptight as the Lord’s snooty butler Clive and has one of the most startling demises of the show.
As the estate caretaker Flint, Nik Georgievski is cocky and smarmy, and gives off a slightly dangerous air as he eyes up the female characters, particularly the Cockney maid Lettie, played as flighty, but deeply suspicious by Azelia dos Santos.
Georgievski and dos Santos have one of the funniest songs in “The Dinghy Song” wrought with double entendres, which Joanellyn Schubert’s choreography cleverly plays into.
As the steadfast and no-nonesense Dr. Grayburn, Armand Reiser initially offers grounding for the group.
Arlo Guzman is wide-eyed and naive as the innocent but air-headed ingenue Hope Langdon. She falls for Salem Perez Torres’ charming and sincere Geoffrey, who shows up muddy and uninvited after his college rowing team’s boat was overturned in the nearby river.
They are cute together and equally guileless in their love song “I Don’t Know Why I Trust You (But I Do).
Jonathan Fehnel is wickedly funny as Nigel Rancour, the slithery nephew of the late Lord who sneaks and snakes his way around the estate, greedily searching for the will he thinks will include him as the legal heir.
Michelle Rieder is well cast as the seemingly imperious but secretly desperate Lady Manley-Prowe.
Deven Windisch is hilarious as the blustering, befuddled retired Colonel Gillweather. The two are especially fun in the playful duet “The Man with the Ginger Mustache.”
Bethany Wentling exudes know-it-all vibes as Miss Tweed, an amateur sleuth in the style of Miss Marple. Wentling’s Miss Tweed briskly takes charge and starts spouting off convoluted theories about possible motives for the murders. She embodies her stiff-upper-lip mentality by staying calm and focused throughout all the chaos. She also leads a musical tribute to the writers who penned mysteries from Christie to Conan Doyle to Shakespeare in “I Owe it All.”
Director JoAnn Wilchek Basist has a deft hand in keeping a fast pace and holding the chaos together.
Rebecca Pieper’s music direction and Schubert’s choreography work hand in hand to advance the plot.
Scenic designer Roxanne Amico’s 1930s-era British estate is stunning and ingeniously incorporates the various traps that kill (or try to kill) the characters.
Performances are 7 p.m. Oct. 1, 2 and 3; and 2 p.m. Oct. 4.
Tickets are $25 for adults; $15 for seniors and $5 for students.
For information, call 610-740-3780, or go to cur8.com/18389/project/138655.