The success of the production, directed by UAA alumnus Nate Benson, is largely due to lively and convincing acting from the three main performers -- none of whom will be familiar to most local theatergoers.
John Klenk plays the part of bad husband Tony Wendice with a subtle Jekyll/Hyde dichotomy. Tony has the misfortune of being a tennis star back when tennis stars made little money. Klenk is smarmy and polished in his interactions with other characters but, when alone, lets the audience get a glimpse of what's going on in his nasty mind. He'd make an excellent Richard III.
But "M" is not Shakespeare. It's a tightly-written mystery in which the puzzle isn't who dunnit or why -- the audience is shown all that out front -- but rather how anyone will ever prove it. Kelly Gallego plays his wandering but manipulated wife, Margot, with attractive vulnerability. Both Wendices boast nicely toned British accents.
Mick Lenahan -- whom some will recall from his smaller roles in Cyrano's recent "Odd Couple" -- doesn't need an accent. His character, Margot's friend and maybe more, is an American, and Lenahan presents it with earnestness and crisp credibility.
Roland Lemieux, the killer-for-hire, also manages to muster a passable Limey sound, as do Terrence Van Ettinger and Mark Mason as offstage voices. D.J. Rotach, in the pivotal role of the Chief Inspector, doesn't even try to muster any sort of British brogue. Which may be for the best.
But he, as all of the speaking roles, does a great job of being understood and making the character's actions rational and real. All in all this effort avoids some of the clunkiness that attended ACT's previous whodunnit, "Mousetrap."
The single set works well, simple and believable in most aspects. The rainstorm effects in Act I, Scene Three were impressive for a hall with such limited space and resources.
Impressive but not unexpected from ACT, which continues to stage these chestnuts with remarkable success. A few weeks ago, at a different venue, I heard a man in the row ahead of me praising ACT's recent "Rainmaker" as one of the best things he's ever seen in Anchorage. At the end of Saturday's show, a woman told her friend that no matter how good the cast or direction of any movie, the live aspect of this theater performance swung the balance in its favor, so far as she was concerned.
Which is an old argument. But as the play climaxed, I could feel what she meant.
Find Mike Dunham online at adn.com/contact/mdunham or call 257-4332.
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