THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, August 2, 1996 TAG: 9608020047
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E13 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Theater Review
SOURCE: BY MAL VINCENT, THEATER CRITIC
LENGTH: 50 lines
WITH $20 MILLION in inheritance money at stake, a wife would prefer that her husband just drop dead. If need be, she's willing to help him along.
It's not exactly a new motive for murder, but in the case of the new murder mystery ``A Mother's Death Wish,'' it does nicely. The Generic Theater's ``New Plays for Dog Days'' festival, an all-out search for new scripts, comes to a quite intriguing finale with this well-structured whodunit-whydunit.
It never quite becomes gripping, but it is constantly interesting.
Jennifer, a veteran screamer of 1950s horror movies, is married to the wealthy, and terminally ill, Carl. He's everything she always wanted in a husband: rich, old and terminal. Things get muddled, though, when she announces that she, too, is terminally ill and she may go before he does. This would leave her philandering son, Jason, with no inheritance, because Stepdad can't stand the lad. Sparked by the son's tough-as-nails wife, there is a plan to do in Carl so that Mommy will inherit.
The cast of five serves the script well, which is about all they're required to do in this playful, diverting but undemanding evening. Sheila Walters is most sassily conniving as the scheming wife. Charles Burgess is the doomed husband. Joel Ladd is particularly physical and aggressive as the son, and Michelle MacKay is his money-minded, cocaine-sniffing wife.
Director Karen Osburn keeps it all moving just fast enough to hold our attention and to absorb the ``facts'' without ever becoming frenetic. Scene changes are hilariously bridged by dialogue from the campy old movies in which the characters have performed - fictional horrors like ``Voodoo Vice'' and ``Withering Heights'' from Scalpel Productions. There's a lot of pseudo-Hollywood witticisms.
Of the mixed blessings of this summer's ``Dog Days'' selections this is the only play with any chance of a commercial future. The festival saved its best for last.
The festival's five scripts will receive repeat performances next week, leading up to the presentation of two prizes on Aug. 10, the ``Top Dog Award'' (for best production) and the ``Pick of the Litter Award'' (for best script). MEMO: THEATER REVIEW
What: ``A Mother's Death Wish,'' the murder-mystery by Jay Folb. It's
the last play in the New Plays for Dog Days festival
Where: Generic Theater, 912 W. 21st St., Norfolk
When: Tonight and Saturday at 8 p.m., Sunday at 2 p.m., Wednesday at
8 p.m.
Who: Directed by Karen Osburn, featuring Sheila Walters, Charles
Burgess, Joel Ladd, Byron Whiting and Michelle MacKay
How Much: $6
More Info: 441-2160 by CNB