Photo Flash: First Look at Taproot Theatre's GAUDY NIGHT

Another favorite Lord Peter Wimsey novel comes to the stage this fall as Taproot Theatre presents Dorothy L. Sayers' classic mystery, Gaudy Night. Harriet Vane's Oxford reunion is terrorized by murderous threats from the "Poison Pen," a vicious vandal determined to destroy our heroine and everything she holds dear. Is her sleuthing enough to apprehend the villain? And where is Lord Peter when she really needs him? Producing Artistic Director Scott Nolte directs Frances Limoncelli's adaptation of Gaudy Night, which opened last night, September 21 and runs through October 20. Get a first look at the show in the photos below!

Dorothy L. Sayers published her first novel in 1923, introducing Lord Peter Wimsey, who would become the hero of many short stories and fourteen volumes of novels, including Gaudy Night. Her work as a mystery novelist won her the role of president of the Detection Club, whose membership included the likes of G.K. Chesterton and Agatha Christie. Dorothy L. Sayers set out as a mystery author, "with the avowed intention of producing something 'less like a conventional detective story and more like a novel.'" This manifested itself in her work when she occasionally, "indulged in a little 'good writing' here and there" (excerpts from an essay Sayers published about Gaudy Night in 1937).

Gaudy Night's setting, Shrewsbury College, was inspired by Dorothy L. Sayers' alma mater, Somerville College, a women's college in Oxford. This story takes place when there was a widespread belief that women were incapable of high academic achievement, but this idea was being refuted by brilliant women rising to the occasion with numerous diverse accomplishments. This initiated the foundation for a shift in that viewpoint. In the 1930's we have Amelia Earhart, the first woman to fly the Atlantic Ocean solo; Billie Holiday, who made her first recording in 1933; Peggy Guggenheim, the art collector, opened her Guggenheim-Jeune gallery in London to exhibit avant-garde art; First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt held her own press conference, allowing only women reporters to attend. In Gaudy Night, the ladies of Shrewsbury College are anxious to protect the academic respect they have earned.

Frances Limoncelli's adaptation of Gaudy Night was first produced in 2006 at Lifeline Theatre in Chicago. Limoncelli was awarded the Non-Equity Jeff Award for New Adaptation of Dorothy L. Sayers' Gaudy Night, Busman's Honeymoon and Strong Poison; among her other adaptations is Sayers' Whose Body?.

Taproot Theatre's production of Gaudy Night features Alyson Scadron Branner as Harriet Vane and Jeff Berryman as Lord Peter Wimsey, supported by a talented cast, including Jenny Cross, Gretchen Douma, Ruth McRee, Kim Morris, Conner Neddersen, Pam Nolte and Nikki Visel. The production team includes scenic and sound designer Mark Lund, costume designer Sarah Burch Gordon, lighting designer Roberta Russell and dialect coach Marianna de Fazio. Micah Trapp serves as stage manager and Sonja Lowe as dramaturg.

In conjunction with Gaudy Night, Taproot Theatre is hosting a free Conversations panel discussion featuring New York Times best-selling author Michael Gruber and others discussing the topic, Clues for Life: Lessons Learned from the Mystery Novel. This exchange of ideas will take place at Taproot Theatre on Tuesday, October 2 at 7:30 pm and is free to the community. General admission tickets are required and available in advance to guarantee seating; tickets may be available day of the event. Ticket reservations can be made by emailing sonjal@taproottheatre.org or calling the Taproot Box Office at 206.781.9707. More information is available at taproottheatre.org/conversations.

Taproot Theatre Company is a professional, non-profit theatre company with a multi-faceted production program. Founded in 1976, Taproot Theatre serves the Pacific Northwest with Mainstage Productions, Touring Productions and the Acting Studio. Taproot exists to create theatre that explores the beauty and questions of life while bringing hope to our search for meaning. Taproot Theatre Company is a member of Theatre Communications Group (TCG), Theatre Puget Sound (TPS), and the Greenwood-Phinney Chamber of Commerce.

For more about this and other Taproot productions, visit www.taproottheatre.org.

Photo Credit: Erik Stuhaug

Jeff Berryman and Alyson Scadron Branner

Alyson Scadron Branner

Pam Nolte, Ruth McRee, Gretchen Douma and Alyson Scadron Branner

Jeff Berryman and Alyson Scadron Branner

Jeff Berryman and Alyson Scadron Branner