"Imagination" Mystery Theater Comes to Quogue

[caption id="attachment_61696" align="alignnone" width="800"] Matthew Conlon, James Lotito, Jr., Rebecca Edana and Jesse Pimpinella rehearse a scene from the second act of the Bernard Slade play, "An Act of the Imagination" at the Quogue Community Hall. Michael Heller photo[/caption]

By Annette Hinkle

Fans of theatrical whodunits will be happy to know that the next production to be offered by the Hampton Theatre Company is a little known gem which offers plenty of twists and turns designed to confound even the biggest mystery buff.

It’s “An Act of The Imagination,” a 1987 mystery by Bernard Slade. Though often produced at regional theaters, the play never had a major run in New York. That makes it ideal fare for amateur sleuths who want to see a production that will leave them guessing till the end.

HTC’s Edward Brennan directs this production and he explains that this play is a distinct departure from the playwright’s other better known works.

“Bernard Slade is known primary for his comedies like ‘Same Time Next Year,’” explains Mr. Brennan. “But during his prolific career he also wrote this mystery.”

Set in 1960s London, “An Act of The Imagination” centers around Arthur Putnam, a well-known mystery writer who is currently hard at work on something totally out of character for him — a romance novel.

“He’s not a romance kind of guy,” says Mr. Brennan. “He’s forgetful, plodding, and not sensual.”

Yet here he is, hard at work in his study writing a novel about love. Like any good mystery, there are plenty of people in the household with whom he can share his fictional ideas and suspicions, including his younger and beautiful new wife, Julia, who is an ex tennis pro; his son Simon who’s always looking for a handout for some shady new venture; and Holly, an enamored young fan of Arthur’s work who’s helping him publish this new book.

[caption id="attachment_61697" align="alignright" width="361"] Matthew Conlon and Rebecca Edana rehearse a scene on Thursday.[/caption]

Mr. Brennan notes that plot line is somewhat ironic, in that it mirrors the playwright’s own real life career. That is, Bernard Slade is well known for his comedies, yet in the midst of it all, he writes a mystery that is as out of his expected realm as the romance novel is for his fictional stage writer, Arthur Putnam.

While it’s not clear whether the real life writer Bernard Slade was ever involved in a murder mystery, the twists and turns of “An Act of The Imagination” are compounded and further intertwined with the fictional romance novel when a couple of women from Arthur’s past show up at the house at some point in the action.

“They are all suspects and they all have a motive,” says Mr. Brennan. “There are a number of characters introduced who have or say they have a sordid relationship Arthur. There’s also a great detective character who helps Arthur with his book and he helps us get insight to this  — we see the play through his eyes.”

“What we find out during the course of the play is that we’re actually witnessing something that is a mystery,” says Mr. Brennan. “It turns out he’s not talking about this new work, but is living it as we see it come on alive on stage.”

It’s a lot to digest, but fortunately, Mr. Brennan, who also acts and has been with HTC for nine years, is well qualified to sort out the details. This is his third directing gig with HTC and he finds the red herrings and nuances in this script reminiscent of another he directed for the theater — “Deathtrap” by Ira Levin.

“I think of ‘Deathtrap’ as an ideal of the genre. I find a lot of similarities in this,” he says. “There are a lot of twists and turns.”

Mr. Brennan explains that this play was selected not by him, but by HTC’s play reading committee which is responsible for designing the company’s entire season each year. Members read a large number of scripts in order to create a line up that will appeal to a broad range of audience members, including a comedy, a mystery, a new work, and something familiar.

“That committee along with the board makes the decision on the director, based on their experience,” says Mr. Brennan. “I get the mysteries.”

For good reason. This is the kind of play that many directors love to get their hands on. It’s also great fun for actors. Mr. Brennan, who has degrees in acting and directing, understands both sides of the coin.

“As an actor, I try to really think about my own role and the relationship with the other characters in the play,” he says. “As director, I have a vision for the entire play and story. I have to think of all relationships in the play.”

As the director of “An Act of The Imagination,” Mr. Brennan also gets to set the tone and its his job to ensure that no hands are tipped early, thereby keeping the audience in the dark until the final resolution.

“I think about 75 percent of the show is us being true to the script,” he says, “and a quarter of it is us trying to interpret the lines to make it realistic and believable so there are a lot of twists and turns for people who think they’re sleuths.”

“The author of this play has done a good job of writing in those red herrings and is masterful in it,” he adds. “We’re also trying to find the places where we can surprise and shock the audience.”

Like any good mystery, it’s all about maintaining the suspense and then presenting an ending that no one — not even the Sherlock Holmes among us — can see coming.

“We’re trying to lead the audience in a certain way to go for the ride,” says Mr. Brennan. “Then we pull the rug out from underneath them.”

Well, that’s certainly one way to kill your victim.

Hampton Theatre Company production of “An Act of the Imagination” runs March 23 to April 9 at Quogue Community Hall, 125 Jessup Avenue. Shows are Thursdays and Fridays at 7 p.m., Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Saturday, April 8 at 2:30 p.m., Sundays at 2:30 p.m. Tickets are $30 ($25 seniors, $15 under $35, $10 students). It stars Matt Conlon, Rebecca Edana, Jesse Pimpinella, James M. Lotito, Jr., Amanda Griemsmann, Meggie Doyle, and Cesa Pledger. For tickets visit hamptontheatre.org or call 866-811-4111.