Cast and staff of The Actors Circle production of ‘Ravenscroft’ are shown from left, seated: April Holgate, Courtney McCreary, Marnie Azzarelli, Britt Demming, and Jessi Teevan. Standing: Eric Lutz, Jeff Ginsberg, Kate Martin, Justin O’Hearn, and Cathy Rist Strauch.
The Actors Circle photo
You’ll find all 3 with ‘Ravenscroft,’ presented by Actors Circle
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Jessi Teevan, Courtney McCreary and Eric Lutz in a scene from ‘Ravenscroft,’ where Inspector Ruffing becomes more and more exasperated by the women he’s questioning. The Actors Circle will present the murder mystery comedy in Scranton Jan. 11 - 21.
The Actors Circle photo
Emotions are running high in this scene from the murder mystery ‘Ravenscroft,’ with April Holgate, Britt Demming and Marnie Azzarelli each portraying characters under suspicion.
The Actors Circle photo
The body of Patrick the handyman has been found at the bottom of a staircase.
And maybe his death was accidental.
Or maybe, one of the five women who make up the household of Ravencroft Manor is guilty of murder most foul.
If you visit the Providence Playhouse in Scranton Jan. 11 through Jan. 21, you’ll be able to watch prolific local actor Eric Lutz, in the role of Inspector Ruffing, trying to sort everything out in Don Nigro’s Gothic murder mystery/comedy “Ravenscroft.”
“They’re all very similar, because they’re all protecting someone,” Lutz said of the five women he questions at the mansion, which is located in the English countryside and isolated by a snowstorm. “Each of the ladies is willing to ‘go down’ before they’d give up another person. But for each of them, it’s a different person they’re trying to protect.”
Sound complicated? It is!
“There’s very verbose repartee, and it takes a bit of time to sink in,” Lutz said. “But it’s very funny.”
The women of the household include Mrs. Ravenscroft, “a sultry widow enjoying the fortune that she inherited from her husband,” and her daughter, Gillian, who could be a little touched in the head.
Their servants include Mrs. French the cook, whom Lutz described as “a tough nut to crack,” Dolly, the maid, who is a “very stupid, sweet girl, very much put upon; and Marcy, “the beautiful foreign governess.”
Could Patrick have been having an affair with any of these ladies?
“Quite possibly,” Lutz said. “But we don’t find that out until later.”
In Act I, he said, his character is no-nonsense, “like Jack Webb in ‘Dragnet,’ very much ‘just the facts, ma’am’ ” and the women he’s questioning are flustered.
In Act II, he said, the women grow more confident, and Inspector Ruffing becomes more and more exasperated.
“Who doesn’t love a good murder mystery comedy?” Lutz said, predicting the show will give audiences a good time, complete with skeletons in the closet and maybe a ghost in the house as well.
“But you have to pay attention, or you’ll get lost.”
Directed by Kate Martin and produced by Cathy Rist Strauch and Jeff Ginsberg, the cast also includes April Holgate, Jessi Teevan, Courtney McCreary, Britt Demming and Marnie Azzarelli.
The show will be presented at 7 p.m. Thursday, Fridays and Saturdays and at 2 p.m. Sundays at Providence Playhouse, 1256 Providence Road in Scranton Jan. 11-21. Tickets are $15 general admission, $12 seniors and $10 students. On Jan. 11, all tickets will be $10. Pay cash at the door or prepay online through Actorscircle.com/. For reservations call 570-342-9707.