Review: Evelyn Strange at the Vertigo Mystery Theatre

When you attend a performance by Vertigo Mystery Theatre you tend to come in with certain expectations. You expect that the script will take some twists and turns, you expect to not really know the full story of what is unfolding untill the end of the play.

This is what good mystery theatre is all about, part of the fun is trying to figure out how the puzzle of the plot is put together before things are fully revealed. And Vertigo always delivers.

Evelyn Strange certainly has all of this but this highly entertaining play by acclaimed Edmonton playwright Stewart Lemoine  also adds in a healty dose of humour and some razor sharp dialogue along with the intrique and mystery. I thought it was great. 

Throughout the play there are shifts in tone from serious and dark, to light and almost farcical but the writing, acting, music and lighting all work together so well they never seemed forced and make for maximum impact on the audience. 

The play opens at a New York Metropolitan Opera performance of Wagner's Siegfried in 1955 when a young man is asked by his boss to stand in for him and watch the performance with his wife. But a mysterious women appears just as the performance begins and the intrique and questions begin. The setting — both the year and the city — and Wagner's lenghty opera are used expertly as thematic points throughout, from the period dialogue, costumes and sets to the music and the plot. 

As I watched, at different point I couldn't help but think about classic Hitchcock films like North By Northwest and Vertigo, Mad Men, classic Bugs Bunny (sorry that's how I know Wagner) and in some of the play's lighter moments Three's Company. A strange mix to be sure, but it just worked for me. From the opening scene to the climatic finish I was drawn deeper into the story as it progressed. 

The small cast of four did a great job in weaving the intricate story in a convincing way and making what must have been difficult shifts in mood seem natural. Barbara Gates Wilson was excellent in the role of Nina Farrar and the same can be said of Tyler Rive as the rakish Lewis Hake (I think I last saw him a Ash in Evil Dead the Musical and I enjoy his almost manic intensity). The interaction between David Leyshon as Perry Spangler and Julie Orton as Evelyn Strange was both charming and funny and really showed off their talents and Lemoine's writing. A fine example of the good things that can happen when you give a group of talented actors a great script. Kudos to director Johanne Deleeuw.

And I think it is important to note as Vertigo Theatre artistic director Mark Bellamy did at last night's opening that this production is 100 per cent Alberta made. 

It really was a fun and entertaining play and I would certainly encourage anyone I know to see it. 

Tickets are available online at the Vertigo Mystery Theatre website.