Town Players Announces Jeffrey Hatcher's 'Murderers'

 “As delightful a group of killers as one is likely to encounter,” said TheaterMania.com of Jeffrey Hatcher’s play Murderers, which will open at The Little Theater in a production  by Town Players of Newtown August 20. Hatcher’s killers admit they are the “who” in the crimes at the very beginning of the evening; the fun is finding out the what, why, when, where, and how.

Hatcher has created three wonderful characters who tell their stories so vividly, peopling the stage—a set by Alexander Kulcsar of Fairfield that suggests the world of The Riddle Key Luxury Senior Retirement Living Center and Golf Course—with such varied and engaging friends and victims that the audience will hardly notice the play is an evening of monologues. That’s why the Philadelphia Enquirer called the play “an elegant, pitch-black comedy, as compelling to watch as it is to hear. Rich stories, passionately told. High-definition characters…surprise twists and sharply comic turns…masterly writing.”

Christopher Bird of Newtown opens the evening as Gerald Halverson in “The Man Who Married His Mother-in-law,” the victim of a simple plan to shelter an inheritance from the I.R.S. that goes wrong. Alice McMahon of Ridgefield offers Lucy Stickler’s story of what happens when “Margaret Faydle Comes to Town” and lures Lucy’s husband into an affair. And Elise Bochinski of Weston invites the audience to “Match Wits with Minka Lupino” in her efforts to protect and avenge the community.

Director Ruth Anne Baumgartner (Fairfield) contrasts this play with Hatcher’s The Turn of the Screw, an adaptation of Henry James’ psychological thriller that Town Players produced two seasons ago. Murderers, she says, “shows Hatcher’s comic side. The three comic monologues about revenge, blackmail, sex, money, jealousy, justice, and of course murder depict desperate passions, old wounds, and cold calculations that intersect at Riddle Key. Hatcher’s characters are charming, funny, and very human. Chances are, you’ll find yourself rooting for the killers!” She adds that, like all good comedies, the play offers some serious insights as well, particularly on the subject of aging.

Murderers opens August 20 at the Little Theater, Orchard Hill Road, Newtown. The production runs Friday and Saturday evenings at 8:00, with Sunday matinées at 2:00, through September 5. General admission is $20. (Please note: this production is not intended for young children.) For directions to the theater, or to make reservations, call 203-270-9144. For more information, www.newtownplayers.org or townplayers@yahoo.com.