by Carol O’Connell
When an audience is not appreciative of a new theatrical production, a director may well wish such plebs an unpleasant experience, in their near future (to put it mildly). But, usually, directors don’t go quite as far as a death wish.
Then again, as the newspaper saying goes, “if it bleeds, it leads”.
Sudden death is considered live theatre in New York. A death, on Broadway, of a member of the opening night audience, can be considered lucky.
All sorts of audience ghouls will buy tickets, just to say they were in that theatre where the blood letting occurred. Then again, another death, on the following night, might be considered careless.
The play in question is The Brass Bed, but critics have already labelled it “a play to die for” – not the least because the deaths, so far, have prevented the play from going any further than Act One.
The cop in charge is Carol O’Connell’s Kathy Mallory, the snippy, off kilter NYPD (New York city police department) detective, who will be familiar to fans of O’Connell’s writing.
Mallory has her hands full with a slew of would be suspects, which includes the, decidedly, complex bunch which make up the cast and crew.
There is also the matter of a so-called “ghostwriter” who, unseen, via the use of a backstage board, keeps changing lines within the play.
Smart as a whip, Mallory packs a great verbal punch, especially when dealing with precocious movie stars. She also packs a nicely lethal .357 Smith and Wesson revolver.
Will Mallory and her male sidekick, Riker, solve the crime, well, that’s a given. But, the ride to the end, is cleverly plotted, with Mallory getting all the good lines.