DATE: Friday, October 3, 1997               TAG: 9710010140

SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS     PAGE: 08   EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: THEATER REVIEW 
SOURCE: Montague Gammon III 

                                            LENGTH:   75 lines

IT'S A ``PERFECT CRIME'' TO WASTE TRUE ABILITY OF LITTLE THEATRE CAST

The Little Theatre of Portsmouth production of the purported thriller ``Perfect Crime'' features one promising novice, though both script and staging falter conspicuously.

The play takes place in the sitting room and office of Dr. Margaret Thorne Brent, in the home she shares with her husband, Dr. W. Harrison Brent. Both are psychiatrists; he is retired and house-bound.

In the first scene an apparent murder takes place. The rest of the play explores why, how, when or even if this scene happened, and how it relates to what may or may not have occurred outside the house.

Playwright Warren Manzi has larded his script with conceptual and verbal cliches, which are accompanied by assorted improbabilities that may be his fault or that of the theater. There's the familiar image of a woman torn between a suitor who is wealthy and aristocratic and another who is clumsily described as a ``low-class medical student with a genius IQ.''

People say things like ``I want to possess you again,'' and ``I know you are trouble,'' and ``I hate your guts'' with straight faces. Actually, they deliver lines without any sense of feeling at all.

There is the nonsensical assumption that a body with a disfigured face cannot be identified, the apparent belief that a man in bloodstained clothing can board a plane unimpeded, and a string of other inanities that become boring to list.

It's rather sad because Manzi conceived a basic plot line with psychological intricacies and twists of action that has lots of potential.

Besides the wealthy Brent couple, there's a truly weird patient, a cook, a mysterious redhead and an inspector who is supposedly obsessed with deceitful, supposedly sultry Mrs. Brent.

A chunk of the story is revealed in a taped TV interview with Mrs. Brent, which she watches during an early scene. Not five words of the whole interview are audible, so the audience is left in the dark about motivations that might be interesting. It has something to do with some book about murder and psychology she has written.

When the actors can be understood, which is not all of the time, their utterances are so removed from any emotion and the characters so detached from each other that one wonders if this whole piece is supposed to be some surreal fantasy. As this is a mystery about a couple of psychiatrists, there's enough chatter about dreams to support the idea. Yet in the final analysis, it's simply a case of under-directed performers who have been given no insight into the motivations of their characters nor a clue of how they look or sound to an audience.

People embrace with all the warmth of snakes entwining, make a great show of indicating how a fearful man might behave, resort to two-expression repertoires of sneers and scowls, and just generally look and sound like the rankest of neophytes.

Ironically, the sole concentrated, sustained and interesting performance comes from a newcomer to the stage. Ken Sookey, as a dangerous-looking tormented obsessive, either got all of the director's attention or he benefited from the neglect that sabotaged the work of his more experienced companions.

Most of the cast members have done better work in other shows, and all deserve other opportunities to show their true abilities. They are Kathlyn Baker, Adam Ivey, Dan Hall, Evie Duvall and Victoria Del Mano. Director Michael-Timothy Rehbaum appeared, though almost invisibly, as the TV interviewer.

A well-spoken, mature lady leaving Friday night's show was heard muttering one single word, repeatedly. Asked whether she was cursing or commenting upon the performance, she confirmed her concise assessment was ``dumb.'' ILLUSTRATION: Graphic

AT A GLANCE

What: ``Perfect Crime,'' by Warren Manzi

When: Friday and Saturday

Where: Little Theatre of Portsmouth, Wilson High School, 1401

Elmhurst Lane

Tickets: 488-7866

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