BWW Reviews: Theatre Suburbia Thriller MURDER BY NATURAL CAUSES Good Enough To Eat

Theatre Suburbia does what it does best in this titillating production of Tim Kelly's light and fluffy piece of popcorn theatre MURDER BY NATURAL CAUSES. Mystery and murder abound in Kelly's compact thriller. Successful mentalist Arthur Sinclair is in mortal danger. His wife, Allison Sinclair, is weary of her wealthy husband. She wants to keep the wealth and kill the husband. The only question is: How?

Director Doris Merten, with assistance from Suzanne King, produces a well-paced, gripping production.

Emma Martinsen as scheming housewife Allison Sinclair is the highlight of the play. Martinsen is fun to watch. She makes Allison Sinclair a charismatic villainess. And she possesses the range and flexibility to portray the two-faced character. She is believable as the sweet, supportive wife and the blood thirsty opportunist.

Michael Raabe plays the mildly pompous Arthur Sinclair. His melodramatic delivery in the second act is gratefully received. However, Caleb Fields is much too stiff and stoic as Allison Sinclair's easily manipulated lover Gil. In early scenes, especially when he is matched with Martinsen's dynamicism, this is a liability. I would have liked to see him looser and more reactive. However, his style of acting is more welcome in later scenes.

Marylin Faulkner is funny as Marta, the brainless put-upon housekeeper. Lindsay Smith is as unctuous as she wants to be as smarmy literary agent Jessica Prescott. And kudos to Suzanne King who, the night I attended, stepped in for Carolyn Montgomery as Mrs. Carrington. Like the rest of the cast, she is fun and entertaining.

I would have liked slightly more complex portrayals for Smith and Martinsen, and from Smith. Potboilers can have complex female characters. Think Lauren Bacall in Howard Hawks' 1946 film THE BIG SLEEP. Still a stereotype, but a stereotype played fully. But, and this is a big but, the performances were still such fun. This production is pure pleasure.

Set designer Elvin Moriarty also deserves applause. On what I'm sure was a tight budget, he created a charming, atmospheric set. However, the prominently displayed poster of American magician William Ellsworth Robinson dressed as his yellowface character creation Chung Ling Soo is in poor taste. This is pulp fiction. Everyone came to have a good time. Why even risk alienating a portion of the audience? For me, it was a distracting element in an otherwise guilty pleasure of a play.

In defense of Moriarty and Theatre Suburbia, racist jokes at the expense of East Asians is quite common in Houston theatre. To this I say, "If all the other theatres jump off a bridge, does that mean your theatre has to as well?"

Aside from that bit of bitterness, this production is good. It's stuffing your mouth with M&Ms and salty popcorn drenched in that golden, artificially-flavored vegetable oil known as liquid butter, and washing it all down with a large, diabetes-inducing soda good. And it's only $16.

Performances of MURDER BY NATURAL CAUSES are on Fridays and Saturdays at 8:30 pm and on Sundays, March 15 and 22 at 3:00 pm. $16 for adults. $13 for seniors and students. Tickets $12 on Sundays. 4106 Way Out West Drive. For more information, please call 713-682-3525.

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