*CAST:

Kurt Kleinmann
Raymond Banda
Ben Bryant
Catherine D. DuBord
Mark Guerra
Greg Pugh
Josh Glover
Marilyn Setu
Leslie Patrick
Jordan Willis
Marc Benjamin Rouse

Reviewed by Mark-Brian Sonna, Associate Theatre Critic for
John Garcia's THE COLUMN

__________________________DEATH EXPRESS_______________________

A technical marvel.

If you have never seen one of Pegasus' black and white plays, you should. In an
homage to 1930's & 40's black and white movies, Kurt Kleinmann is known for
creating a visually eye popping show. Everything is in black and white: the
set, the costumes, the props, and the actors. The make-up is so precisely
applied in tonalities of grey that the effect is that of seeing a black and
white movie. Truly awesome.

What also makes the productions fun is that the style of acting is done very
much in the high drama seen in many period films of the same era. In this case
we have a spoof of an Agatha Christie storyline created in Murder on the Orient
Express. This version is called Death Express! There are also many references
to Hitchcock's earlier films: The Lady Vanishes, Number 17, Strangers on a
Train, etc. The audience is asked at intermission to "vote" as to whom they
think the guilty party is. This device additionally engages the audience. Very
clever.

So what is the plotline? Well, the show is rather confusing, and it is here
where it falters a bit. Some one was murdered, or was he? Then someone
disappears, or did he? The corpse vanishes, or did it? Kleinmann throws in a
batch of red herrings, twists, and reveals that were a bit hard to follow. But
that is the point. You are supposed to keep guessing as an audience member, and
thus keep you on the edge of your seat. Unfortunately, I didn't. Part of the
reason is that I didn't connect with the characters so I was not vested into
their welfare. This said, I would have enjoyed figuring out the mystery, till
it dawned on me what the ending would reveal. Then intermission came. Up to
that point I was wowed by the technical virtuosity on stage, but I was getting a
little bored with the proceedings because nothing was making much sense. I
gave up on figuring out the confusing plot and for act 2 I decided to let the
rest of the production play out for all its nonsense and write a tepid review
once I got home. I was surprised to find out that act two thoroughly
entertained me. It was a riot. So I'm glad to say that not all was lost and I
did enjoy end up enjoying the show. And yes, I was correct in guessing the
ending.

Part of the problem that I had with the production is that this was the first
time I had ever seen one of these black and white shows. These shows have a
very devoted following. Harry Hunsacker, played excellently by Kurt Kleinmann
is a regular character in these plays from the references implied in the
dialogue. Since I was new to all of this, I was not "in" on some of the humor,
so the jokes got lost on me. It was like watching the third sequel in a
franchise and not knowing what part 1 and part 2 were all about. The audience
enjoyed much more Act 1 whereas I felt a little lost. This said, it didn't ruin
my evening, I simply felt left out, and if I were to ever see another of these
shows I know I would enjoy them much more since I will now have the "inside"
scoop.

The other problem of Act 1, was the lack of energy in the cast. Jordan Willis
and Catherine DuBord as actors hit the stage full tilt and instantly engaged me.
The others needed a dose of caffeine. This was alleviated in act 2 because the
energy of the entire cast was kicked up a big notch and the play became much
more engaging. This isn't to say that the rest of the large cast wasn't good at
what they were doing, for they all played their roles convincingly, but in such
a large theatre they need to project their presence past the proscenium and to
the back row. As actors it is important to be aware of the size of the
auditorium in which you are playing, subtleties can be lost when the audience is
sitting further back.

The staging and directing by Susan Sargeant displayed someone who is very versed
in her craft. Her compositions were flawless and she utilized the dual level
stage to the full hilt. She created hysterical tableaus during the madcap
scenes in Act 2 in which the train they are in goes through a tunnel. The stage
would go dark and then as soon as the lights would come back on, the cast would
be in different positions with their guns drawn. This caused a series of
convulsions of laughter from the audience. It was this zany staging that made
me wish the entire play could have been so raucously funny, but the script in
act 1 didn't support it.

The lighting by Sam Nance captured the feel of the lighting of those old films
as did the costume design by Aaron Patrick Turner. John Harvey must have had a
blast doing the props for he had to convert everything into black and white
including the lining of handbags and the inside of folders, not a detail was
missed. Kurt Kleinmann's sound design also was spot on and captured the feel of
the era.

So, should you go see it? Yes. Is it a feast for the senses? Yes. Is it the
one of the better plays you will ever see? No. But it is definitely
entertaining.

Reviewed by Mark-Brian Sonna, Associate Theatre Critic for
John Garcia's THE COLUMN

__________________________________________________________________

DEATH EXPRESS!
By Kurt Kleinmann (COLUMN subscriber, COLUMN AWARD NOMINEE)
Through January 17, 2010
Pegasus Theatre

Performed at the Eisemann Center in Richardson Tx. Shows are
Thursday, Friday, Saturday at 8pm, Saturday/Sunday matinees
at 3pm.

Tix are $20-$40 & are available through the Eisemann Center tix
office at 972-744-4650 or online at www.eisemanncenter.com