In London in the 1880s, theatre producer William Terriss has been murdered outside the stage door of the Lyceum Theatre. Turns out, the blood has been drained out of him. It was reported that Sir Henry Irving's business partner, Bram Stoker, had given Terriss a copy of his manuscript, "Vampire Diaries," and now the papers have disappeared.
"Seven famous people are suspect in this strangest of whodunits," according to production notes from Gorilla Theatre, Tampa's only Equity company.
Gorilla's resident playwright and producer Hampton based his latest murder-mystery on the actual murder of William Terriss who was stabbed outside The Lyceum. Hampton states in notes, "As Shaw would say, 'It was too true to be good.' When I began looking into this mystery, I saw the pieces fall together. All the famous people knew each other and had reasons to be involved in the murder."
In the fictional yarn, George Bernard Shaw hires master sleuth Sherlock Holmes to track down the sanguinary killer. In this all star line-up, history and theatre are woven throughout. Dr. Watson (played by Richard C. Adams) and Inspector Lastrade (Steven Clark Pachosa) join Sherlock Holmes (Sean Sanczel) in unraveling the tangled tale.
The play includes theatre folk such as Shaw (Tom Oakes), Sir Henry Irving (Jack Brand), Ellen Terry (Eileen Koteles), Alla Nazimova (Jessica Alexander), Oscar Wilde (David C. Baker) and Harley Granville-Barker (Slake Counts). J. Stephen Jorge plays Wilde's protégé, Bobby Hunt. Designers are Allen Loyd (set) and Dawn Krumvieda (lighting). The production is co-directed by Aubrey Hampton and Crystal Solana Bryan.
For information, call (813) 879-2914 or visit www.gorilla-theatre.com.
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Gorilla is known for new works and edgy programming. Wallace Shawn's Aunt Dan and Lemon will be presented later this spring.