EAST TAWAS — On Sunday afternoon the audience at the Tawas Bay Players Playhouse watched Daniel Corban (Chris Mundy) meltdown into the depths of a mental breakdown. Corban is the lead character in “Catch Me If You Can,” a murder mystery, currently being performed by the Tawas Bay Players at their Playhouse in East Tawas.
The play opens with Corban pacing back and forth anxiously, while nursing a glass of 20-year-old Scotch.
Corban and his wife Elizabeth, recently married, are on their honeymoon after a brief romance and quick wedding. Now, Corban’s wife has gone missing.
The play takes place in a summer cottage in the Catskill Mountains over Labor Day Weekend. Corban’s boss Everett Parker, who likes to visit the cabin with a number of young women, loaned him the cabin for his honeymoon. The set with its 1960s décor, complete with a large poster of Humphrey Bogart from Casablanca, transposed the audience to that era.
Rodger McElveen did double duty, playing Inspector Levine, one of the main characters and serving as the director. McElveen, with his quick wit and excellent timing, adds most of the comedy relief to the play.
The cast includes Keith Frank as Father Kelleher, the local priest who also enjoys a glass of Scotch or two. Barb Richardson as “Mrs. Corban”, keeps us guessing throughout the play. Rita Shuey plays a very believable Sidney, the owner of Sidney’s Sandwich Shop. Carmen Stevens is memorable as “Mrs. Parker” in a leopard print loungewear ensemble. Scott Stevens rounds out the cast as Everett Parker, Corban’s philandering boss.
The play takes the audience on a ride with lots of plot twists and turns. Just when you think you know what happened, another surprise awaits you around the next corner.
Terry Popielarz is the assistant director of the play and Julee Popielarz is the producer.
The production crew includes Becky Archer, stage manager; Hunter Schultz, stage setup; McElveen, set design; Ryan Mendyka, McElveen, Brandon Fogle, Julee Popielarz, Sandy Mendyka and Terry Popielarz, set construction; Terry Popielarz and Ray Skiver, sound design/tech; Krebs, light design; Terry Popielarz, light tech; Julee Popielarz, refreshments; Penny Zacharias, Pam Frank and Stacy Perrot, box office/reservations; Mary Ann Michalski, pictures/archives; Julee Popielarz, biographies; Pat Casey, programs; Julee Popielarz, lobby board; and Tina and Allen Dalton, Tony Archer, Meghan Archer and Schultz, ushers.
“Catch Me if You Can is a play by Jack Weinstock and Willie Gilbert that is taken from a French play by Robert Thomas. The work premiered on Broadway at the Morosco Theatre on March 2, 1965 and closed after 111 performances on June 5, 1965.
The Tawas Bay Players interpretation, with references to cell phones and CDs, was a little bit confusing. The modern references distracted from the set and the overall feel of the play. During the discussion with the cast after the play they explained that the changes were made to make the play more accessible to a younger audience.
Run time is two hours with a 15-minute intermission complete with refreshments.
For those who missed the play this weekend you still have four opportunities to catch it. Upcoming show dates are Feb. 24, 25, and 26 at 7 p.m., and Feb. 27 at 2 p.m. at the Tawas Bay Playhouse, 401 Newman St. in East Tawas. Tickets can be purchased through the theatre group’s website at www.tawasbayplayers.com or at the Playhouse box office, which opens one hour before show time.
If you are interested in being a member of the cast for the next production, and are a teenager, auditions for “Professor, How Could You!” a comedy by Anne Coulter Martens are being held on March 9 and 10 at 5:45. The all-teen play will have seven performances in early and mid-May. The Tawas Bay Players’ season will wrap up with “I Love Lacy,” a comedy by Michal Jacot, with performances at the end of July.
