Review: Jeffery Hatcher's "Murderers"

CATCO's season opener full of twisted and delightful hilarity

By Dwayne Steward

Metromix

To most, murder is a cruel deed only taken part in by the truly psychopathic. If you're Ohio native Jeffery Hatcher, that's not exactly the case.

In the off-Broadway playwright's script, "Murderers"—presented by the Contemporary American Theater Company through Oct. 18 in Studio Two of the Vern Riffe Center—homicide is definitely regrettable, but not a trait saved only for the mentally insane.

The show stars three murderers who relay three brilliantly written monologues about three very different (and oft times funny) executions.  Matthew M. Moore, Kerry Shanklin and Jill Taylor excellently deliver. And under Jonathan Putnam's amazingly paced direction, each story flows nicely without the ADHD-effect that often sets in when someone talks at you for half an hour.

Each actor's performance, surrounding the murderous happenings in a Florida retirement community, is pretty amazing, but Shanklin takes the cake as Lucy Stickler, a feisty retiree who passive-aggressively turns on her husband and his mistress.

Shanklin completely embodies the foul-mouthed grandma, adding spice to a part of the show that could go in the completely opposite direction.

Taylor, as serial-killing Minka Lupino, procures the best written and most engaging storyline, and definitely rises to the occasion. Fed up with the way senior citizens around her are being treated, Lupino decides to become an "avenging angel," offing anyone who does their aging loved one wrong.

Taylor's witty but sunny, suburban mom-like disposition is a perfect contrast to Lupino's mass murdering adventure. She is the only one whose tale takes on a more typical mystery approach and she nails it.

Moore, who plays Gerald Halverson, showcases the best storytelling chops, adding a sort of deep, sultry Reading Rainbow croon behind the flow of his tale. Halverson has the unfortunate task of marrying his fatally sick mother-in-law, so as to avoid an insurmountable death tax that would drastically diminish her daughter's inheritance. This becomes the first in a long line of foolish choices that leads to a death penalty. 

Moore also adds a bit of James Bond-esque stealth to his retelling that serves him well. Draped in a full tuxedo, he claims execution should only be done in one's best attire.

The stage is nearly empty throughout, each actor receiving only a chair to work with. The entire production rests solely on their shoulders as they alone are responsible for pushing the storyline forward. Hatcher's innate ability to craft a one-liner helps. His witty anecdotes keep the audience audibly responding.

The strength of this CATCO production doesn't lie just in the mastery character development and storytelling, but in Hatcher's ability to flip an age-old convention on its head—making murderers loveable—and the actors' magnificent ability to take us there.

"Murderers" runs through Oct. 18 in Studio Two of the Vern Riffe Center. Tickets are $11.50 to $40. To purchase tickets or for more information head over to the CATCO Web site.