Playwright: Ken Ludwig. At: Drury Lane Theatre, 10 Drury Lane, Oakbrook Terrace. Tickets: 630-530-0111 or www.drurylane.com; $20-$22. Runs through Oct. 19
It's thriller time in Chicago's suburbs. Citadel Theatre in Lake Forest is reviving the 1978 classic Deathtrap, while the Metropolis Performing Arts Centre in Arlington Heights is going even more vintage by producing Dial "M" for Murder from 1952.
But the newest and biggest murder mystery thriller in the suburbs is Ken Ludwig's 2011 comedy The Game's Afoot, which is making its Chicago-area debut at Drury Lane Theatre in Oakbrook Terrace. And Drury Lane is lavishly pulling out all the casting and production values stops with this comedy, even if Ludwig's script doesn't exactly live up to other classics of the thriller genre.
The Game's Afoot begins with an overwrought Sherlock Holmes play within a play. But at the curtain call, an unknown assailant shoots the actor/playwright William Gillette ( an eccentric Derek Hasenstab ), who plays Holmes, in the arm. The rest of the show takes place in Gillette's remote Art Deco mansion ( a very gorgeous and applause-worthy reveal courtesy of set designer Kevin Depinet ), where Gillette attempts to discover who was the culprit behind his attempted murder.
Since Gillette's guests are all theater types, ranging from his many co-stars to the manipulative theater critic Daria Chase ( a delightfully vindictive and over-the-top Angela Ingersoll ), he's well aware that he might have a difficult time rooting out just who attempted to kill him since they're all experts at putting on a show.
Although Ludwig provides plenty of moments for audiences to alternately jump or laugh themselves out of their seats ( particularly with the age-old gag of trying to find places to stash a dead body ), die-hard mystery fans will probably be disappointed by the ultimate reveal of whodunit since it wasn't as intricately twisted as in other thrillers. But for audiences who just want a good time with quirkily funny performances and loads of 1930s-era costuming eye-candy ( a credit to designer Maggie Hofmann ) they can't go wrong with The Game's Afoot.
Director William Osetek has certainly found a wonderful cast to make the funny material shine like a polished gem. Alene Robertson as Gillette's exhausted mother, Martha, can move the audience to hysterics with just a well-timed scowl or eye-roll. And Wendy Robie's eminently proper and elegant turn as the unexpected police Inspector Goring is a particular delight in Act II.
The rest of the cast also play their parts to the hilt, including Rod Thomas and Kathy Logelin as the married actor couple of Frank and Madge Geisel with Rob Riddle and Tempe Thomas as the other actors Simon Bright and Aggie Wheeler in the equation.
So even if the twists in The Game's Afoot aren't as surprising as in other thrillers, the Drury Lane production will at least leave you in plenty of welcome comic stitches.