TLT production opens tomorrow at Workshop
A little way into the comedy/mystery “Done to Death,” opening Thursday, April 28 at the Tryon Little Theater Workshop, producer Jason Summers walks onto the TV studio set and greets the audience: “It is our pleasure to invite you to join us in a short experimental evening in crime.”
It’s an invitation that gives the audience the opportunity to hob-knob with famous (well, they used to be) mystery writers.
You’ve got Whitney and Jessica Olive: “Here’s to death, murder, violence and mayhem. But with sophistication.”
You’ve got Rodney Duckton: “What I could have done with this in my horror days. Sliding panel here, a groping hand there, a beautiful girl seated at the desk. Footsteps coming down the corridor. She turns… screams.”
Then there’s Mildred Z. Maxwell: “Mine are timeless. The usual murder, the interfering detective, and then call everyone into the room and give them the answer. That’s the basis of all murder books.”
And finally the youngest of the group, Brad Benedict. As Rodney, the oldest, observes of Brad: “You took what I wrote in the thirties, added a few transistors, undressed a few women and got astoundingly good royalties for a while.”
The five of them are to be shipped off to Vulture’s Vault, on a decidedly spooky island in the Caribbean, to blend their writing styles into a wildly successful TV series. There they will be tended to by Gregory, the butler, and Jane, the pretty young maid.
Performances are April 28-30 and May 5-7 at 8 p.m., and May 1 and 8 at 3 p.m. at the Workshop, 516 S. Trade Street. For tickets, call 828-859-2466.