The extremely talented cast and crew associated with Cornerstone Theatre delivered once again.
Cornerstone Theatre held a successful spring performance with their production, "The Game's Afoot," by Ken Ludwig.
Performing on April 12, 13, and 14 at Carlyle Memorial Hall, it was David and Shelly Slykhuis who provided the meal on both the Friday and Saturday performances. The Sunday performance did not include supper as it was a matinee.
The performances were dedicated to Dean Albano, a Cornerstone Theatre alumni who passed away earlier this year.
Directed by Dianne Twietmeyer and Doug Waldner, two seasoned Cornerstone veterans, the play was extremely entertaining.
Grant Taylor took on the role of William Gillette, a Broadway star who plays Sherlock Holmes on stage. During a performance he is shot in the arm and this arouses suspicions in his fellow thespians.
David Slykhuis gave an extremely convincing portrayal of Martha Gillette, William's elderly mother, who is willing to kill for her son. Slykhuis' performance stood out as people were amazed by how well he was able to play a woman, as his mannerisms encompassed that of an elderly lady perfectly.
For those who did not look at their play bill or know that Slykhuis was portraying this role, one would have never known he was playing a woman.
Slykhuis in fact greatly enjoys portraying challenging characters and assuming the identity of the character. Being able to make the audience forget who he is and become immersed in the character is something he thoroughly enjoys about acting.
"I like to live the part," Slykhuis stated.
Bertha Islaeifson played the character of Madge Geisel, with Lane Easton taking on the role of her husband, Felix Geisel. These characters were suspects to Gillette and Inspector Goring, but were integral in helping to solve a murder-mystery.
Inspector Goring was brought to life by Debbie Bedecs. Goring was a female inspector who self admittedly misses obvious clues during investigations; but, is still always able to catch the criminal.
Inspector Goring had eventually been called to the Gillette estate following events which led to a murder.
Jesse Twietmeyer took to the stage as Simon Bright a fellow actor who worked with Gillette and had recently married Aggie Wheeler performed by Colleen Easton.
The final player in the comical whodunit was Joan Bue who portrayed Daria Chase. Chase, a journalist who had given all of the performers poor reviews at one point in time or who had romantic trysts with others, had been invited to the Gillette home to perform a séance in order to discover who was responsible for recent deaths and murder attempts.
In the end Chase was stabbed in the back, killing her and forcing the remaining characters to deduce who was responsible for not only Chase's death, but the death of a stage doorman, the apparent accidental death of Aggie Wheeler's late first husband, and the attempt on Gillette's life.
As events unfolded Bright and Wheeler would be arrested, though responsible for murders they turned out to be innocent of Chase's death. Martha Gillette was the one responsible for Chase's death as Chase had threatened to ruin William Gillette's career.
The crowd, which amassed for the performances greatly enjoyed the show. Laughter emanated throughout the building, while gasps came at instances of surprise.
Though Slykhuis' performance was quite entertaining and very convincing, it was the entire cast's chemistry and interaction that made the production a wonderful showing.
