EVELYN STRANGE is Now Playing at Varscona Theatre

Spring has arrived with what now seems like genuine conviction and so Teatro La Quindicina's 40th anniversary celebrations continue apace. With one production down and another on deck, it really does feel like we're back in business, and what better way to make the most of that than by wholeheartedly plunging ourselves into a captivating and confounding world of perplexity and intrigue. Teatro's second offering in this historic season of premium revivals is a new production of Stewart Lemoine's elegant comic mystery Evelyn Strange, playing at the Varscona Theatre May 26 through June 12.

Amusing and suspenseful in equal measure, Evelyn Strange tells the tale of a beautiful amnesiac who wanders into the world of publishing and high society in 1950s New York and must unravel a tangled web of deception, betrayal, and murder before she can rediscover her identity. The alluringly bewildered Evelyn leads three urban sophisticates on a mad dash from the Metropolitan Opera to Grand Central Station, and in and out of the offices and dwellings of mid-town Manhattan. It's an elegant laugh riot that builds to a climax of genuine nail-biting tension.

This year's revival, the third since the 1995 Teatro premiere, is directed by Shannon Blanchet, who made her company debut in the title role when the play was last presented in 2006. The stellar quartet of actors, all new to their roles, includes Belinda Cornish, Oscar Derckx, and Jesse Gervais, with Gianna Vacirca making her official onstage Teatro debut as Evelyn, following her appearances in last season's streaming film project Lost Lemoine.

Joining Ms. Blanchet on the production team are longtime Teatro costume designer Leona Brausen -who dresses everyone in the finest looks of '55 - and set designer Chantel Fortin - who whisks us from the opera boxes of The Met to The Automat, and from Grand Central station to swell mid-century apartments and hotels. In her Teatro debut, lighting designer Narda McCarroll reveals and conceals with authority and panache. Assistant director Larissa Pohoreski ensures that no detail goes unobserved, while stage manager Gina Moe presides over the chaos with the assurance of one who's read ahead to the ending.

A reminder masking and REP are in effect for Varscona Theatre.

Evelyn Strange runs from May 27 to June 12 at the Varscona Theatre- 10329 83 Avenue, with a preview performance on May 26. Performances are Tuesday through Saturday at 7:30 p.m., with additional matinees on Sundays at 2 p.m.

Tickets may be purchased at teatroq.com.

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