WTC wraps up season with sharp-witted comedy

The Whitefish Theatre Co. presents its final cabaret of the theatre season with a production of “Red Herring” by Michael Hollinger at the O’Shaughnessy Center in Whitefish.

This hilarious, sharp-witted comedy opens with a sneak preview night on May 25 at 7:30 p.m. Performances continue on May 26, 27 and 28 and June 2, 3, and 4 at 7:30 p.m.

A spoof of film noir detective movies set in 1952, “Red Herring” has five interlocking plots – spy story, murder mystery, and three love stories. The couples include not-so-bright Russian spy Andre Borchevsky and kooky Mrs. Kravitz, nuclear-weapons expert James Appel and Senator Joe McCarthy’s daughter, Lynn, and a forbidden liaison between FBI agent Frank Keller and detective Maggie Pelletier. Mysteries abound as the play unfolds: What happened to Mrs. Kravitz’s husband? If James is really a Soviet spy, what will Lynn tell her mother? Who is the dead body anyway? As the knots of the three convoluted relationships tie and fray, the plot-crossed lovers bumble and strategize their way to solve the mystery, eventually unravelling their trysts amidst riotous, inescapable tangles.

“’Red Herring’ is a real crowd pleaser that is guaranteed to tickle the funny bone, as well as boggle the mind,” says Director Gail Cleveland. “It’s a fantastic play complete with spies, murder, and all the questions of a good mystery – Who did it? Who is who? Who did what? The love stories are also sweetly complex and realistic in comedy style, sure to please the romantic in the audience.”

Crackling with plot twists and mistaken identities of a classic farce, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has called “Red Herring” a “knockout….a surprising, clever comedy that keeps you laughing and even thinking all the way.”

The production features David Blair as Andre Borchevsky, Erin Grayce as Mrs. Kravitz, Mikey Winn as James Appel, Katie Nixon as Lynn McCarthy, David Reese as Frank Keller, and Becky Rygg as Maggie Pelletier.

“This is a tour de force for six fine actors playing multiple characters,” adds Cleveland. “What a great experience creating this theatre piece with this ensemble.”

Tickets are $20 for reserved table or mezzanine seating with food and wine available for purchase. Tickets for the sneak preview performance on May 25 are $10 sold only at the door.

Tickets can be purchased at the Box Office, 1 Central Ave., Whitefish, or by calling 862-5371. Box office hours are from 10 a.m.to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and one hour before performance times.

Tickets can also be purchased online at www.whitefishtheatreco.org. This show is sponsored by Judy and John Melin and Christine Stanley.