The Deadly Game

Reviewed by Holly Bartges

Respect.

The Denver Victorian Playhouse bows in respect to James Yaffe’s wickedly mysterious capped-with-humor-play The Deadly Game. He successfully adapted the play from Friedrich Durrenmatt’s novel Trapps. And, oh, there are traps verbally sliced within every corner of the play.

Respect is given to a gorgeous set designed by Sarah Rosen, depicting a masculine interior design of a Swiss Chalet perched on a deep precipice high in the Alps.

Respect is given to rich character development by an enormous talented cast.

Director Patricia Goodman carefully manipulates structure, characters, and deceitful movement, giving respect in detail.

Respect is given to detailed makeup transforming Wade P. Wood, Dell Domnick, Pete Nelson, and Art Goodman into slick professional, bearded retired gentlemen who lived their life in the legal world, clinging to their legalese with a life/death grip.

Forced to retire because of their age, their worlds began to crumble and fall to pieces. Health issues became a top priority until Emile Carpeau, a Judge, (Domnick) capitalized on an ingenious plan along with Bernard Laroque, Defense Attorney (Wood), and Gustave Kummer, Prosecutor, (Goodman), and Joseph Pillet, an Old Man (Nelson).

Just because the real world demanded they retire, did not mean they had to give up that which they loved most: trying cases. A couple of times a month, the four gather for a gourmet dinner at the Judge’s neatly appointed home. Following dinner the four engage in a parlor game, of sorts, trying history’s famous cases. In the past they have tried Julius Caesar, and Judas Iscariot. Once in a while a unique opportunity comes knocking at the door.

Emile’s character is smooth, gracious, oily and cunning with a glint of purpose in his eye. Domnick wears the character with greased aloofness, with empathetic shading. He treats his servant with capricious compassion. Sarah Burley slips into the role of Nicole as the French maid with pure accent, and appropriate demeanor. She knows her place, takes her duties seriously, revealing a slight coquettish maneuver. Jeff Gardner plays Pierre, a mute servant with grand dignity. Both Nicole and Pierre hide secrets that tumble out during the play. Because he is present a great deal of the time on stage, because he doesn’t speak, because his manner and expressions are crucial, Gardner gives an appealing performance with consistency in his silence and his secrecy. Through long speeches and animated conversations, Gardner keeps Pierre stoically in character the entire time. Therein lie the makings for scene stealing. It is no small trick to stand on stage engulfed in a character. Gardner does it, and does it well.

Wood has completely transformed himself into the retired defense attorney position of Bernard with a penchant toward chess, and an eagerness to win. Wood surrounds himself with Bernard’s inner desperate secret world.

It is the tottering hard of hearing palsy stricken Old Man, that is breath taking. It is always fun to see an actor grow in character stature, and Nelson molds Joseph with consistent believability.

It is a blizzard-blinded night, and they have all arrived for a scrumptious dinner and game except for Gustave. Bernard and Emile busy themselves with a high-powered game of chess, Joseph slumbers in a chair, while his mind periodically shakes him awake worrying over Gustave’s absence.

The doorbell announces an arrival. Joseph is relieved it has to be Gustave. It isn’t. It is Howard Trapp, eagerly played by Andy Anderson, an American salesman who has just run his car into a ditch a half-mile up the road. Cold, wet, confident, uneasy over disturbing the party, grateful for the warmth and hospitality, Anderson clocks himself in the character with deliberate attire.

Much to Joseph’s relief, Gustave does arrive, delayed by the storm.

Howard confuses the hospitable reception with a nervousness he can’t quite pinpoint. The legalesed gentlemen have a life time of history identifying people by the cut of their clothes, mannerisms, and speech patterns, and they have a sinister hidden school boy time of revealing Howard to himself, as they diligently peal away Howard’s façade while the American salesman throws back an innocent crime free façade.

Of course, he wants to play the game, but he lives a perfect controlled life. There is no crime for which he can be tried.

Gustave digs, Bernard digs, Emile encourages with a mysterious delight. Slowly, the perfect specimen, in love with his wife, cracks around the edges. The game is not just a parlor game, it is a game of life and death: life for the legal men, death for the guilty. Anderson paces his character development with an awesome realistic twist.

Psychological thrillers frequently unravel before their time on stage. Solutions too easily guessed, characters cut from paper doll dimensions, and they become a joke more than a sit on the edge of the seat thrillers. The Deadly Game is magnificently written, and though it is easy at times to jump ahead of the action anticipating results, the characters are so finely tuned, the audience can take their conclusions as sharing an inside joke, or secret, as the case may be. The developmental action/reaction still takes one to the edge of their seat.

One more character appears, Helen Trapp, played by Priscilla Young. She is gleefully accepted into the legal fold. Looking for answers. Little does she know she supplies the wizened mad legal minds with fodder for a new game. Dinner and a parlor game sound too rich and gracious to turn down.

Respect.

The Denver Victorian Playhouse gives the utmost respect to The Deadly Game. With the hard work and determination of Wade and Lorraine Wood, the Denver Victorian Playhouse returns to the glory of its once upon a time days. There must be more to the spit and polish the Woods have given to the Playhouse. George Swartz who built the house in 1911 with its basement home theatre has to be smiling with impish delight his theatre regains its glory.

For a very long time The Victorian Playhouse stood on the peripheral edge of contending theatres in the Denver area. Then for a long while it didn’t even stand. Now, it stands as a contender right smack in the middle, a place it deserves.

Miss this show and you’ll miss a theatrical treat of well-done, well-performed, gifted theatre. Call early for reservations, but call.