Subscribe to this blog's feed

Subscribe to the Podcast

Twitter Updates

    follow me on Twitter

    About Comments

    • Comments are welcome...but...

      Please carry on all conversations without shouting, excessive ranting, or crudity. Profanity and personal attacks will not be tolerated. I am delighted to have you in my house - well, on my blog, anyway - and look forward to discussions. But please remember that we are all trying to carry on a civilized discussion. Your views are valuable. Please treat them that way. Thank you.

    Categories

    Archives

    More...

    About

    Mystery Publishers

    • Academy Chicago Publishers
      An imprint of the Chicago Review Press. Features a number of interesting authors, most long out of print, plus some other odds and ends, including some horror stories by Conan Doyle.
    • Crippen & Landru
      Crippen & Landru publish mystery short story collections. Of particular interest is what they call "Lost Classics," a series of anthologies of mostly uncollected stories by authors who might be enjoyed by a new generation of readers.
    • Dean Street Press
      This small British publisher has a great many classic crime books in its much broader catalog. They are bringing back many Golden Age classics by authors who deserve another chance at a new audience.
    • Felony & Mayhem
      This publisher specializes in classic mysteries, broadly defined, including newer mysteries that adhere to classic standards. They have just overhauled their website to make it much more informative and user-friendly.
    • Locked Room International
      A small press, specializing in very good English-language translations of (so far) mostly-French authors of locked room and impossible crime stories. They publish in Print-On-Demand and electronic editions.
    • Merion Press
      The Merion Press is an independent publisher of out-of-print works that were originally published over 75 years ago, but are enduring even today.
    • MysteriousPress.com
      The brainchild of editor/anthologist/author/bookstore-owner Otto Penzler, the Mysterious Press has recently returned to life and now works with Open Road Media as an electronic book publisher. It is already republishing the work of a lot of classic authors, with more books on the way.
    • Oconee Spirit Press
      A small, independent publisher committed to publishing "lively fiction, and provocative non-fiction." Most of their list covers early works by established authors writing traditional mysteries, such as Carolyn Hart and Margaret Maron.
    • Oleander Press
      This small eclectic British publisher has begun publishing a series of classic British mystery novels, primarily from the Golden Age. The series is grouped into a section of their catalogue named "London Bound," as the books are set in London.
    • Ostara Publishing
      "Ostara Publishing re-issues titles that have unjustifiably become unavailable either through the ravages of time or the forces of publishing economics. We specialise in Crime and Thriller fiction titles and our range goes from the1920s through to the 21st century. We publish thematically and currently have six series available. All our titles are published in a 'trade paperback' format and printed to order."
    • Poisoned Pen Press
      Based in Scottsdale, Arizona, the Poisoned Pen Press publishes a fairly wide variety of mysteries. Some are reprints; many are new, by newer authors. Their website has a great deal of information about their books and authors.

    Search Classic Mysteries

    • Search This Site via Google Search
      Google

      WWW
      www.classicmysteries.net

    Amazon invitation

    • Link to Amazon
      Classic Mysteries is an Amazon.com Associate. If you're going to buy something from Amazon, please use this link to reach their site. I appreciate it!
    Blog powered by Typepad

    « "A Scream in Soho" | Main | "Miraculous Mysteries," edited by Martin Edwards »

    June 25, 2017

    "Might as Well be Dead" - Onstage Now in St. Paul, MN

    The opening night performance Saturday night of Joseph Goodrich's play based on Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe novel Might as Well be Dead, now onstage at the Park Square Theatre in St. Paul, Minnesota, brought the audience to its feet cheering, 

    MightAsWellBeDead_Program_EDIT

    More than 40 members of the Wolfe Pack, the organization dedicated to the Nero Wolfe books and to Rex Stout, were among the audience on hand in St. Paul to enjoy the show, including Rex Stout's daughter and granddaughter. 

    Which we did.

    A lot.

    It's only the second time a Nero Wolfe book has been brought to the stage. The same theater premiered Joseph Goodrich's version of The Red Box four years ago.

    You can't have a great Nero Wolfe mystery without a great Nero Wolfe, and E. J. Subkoviak (pictured on the program cover, above) brought Wolfe to life for this play. You also need a great Archie Goodwin, and Derek Dirlam did a superb job in a demanding role which kept him onstage both as narrator and participant in the action for virtually the entire show. Michael Paul Levin was a first-rate Inspector Cramer (and he nailed Cramer's habit of chewing on an unlit cigar perfectly). The rest of the roles were performed by other members of the repertory company, with the individual actors taking on multiple parts, all under the guidance of director Peter Moore.

    Goodrich's adaptation of Might as Well be Dead was extremely well done. While faithful to the characters - especially Wolfe and Archie - Goodrich and Moore "opened" the play up, surrounding Scenic Designer Rick Polenek's version of Wolfe's office with a multi-level set on which events flowed continuously from point to point without needing scenery changes that would slow down the action. While there were some changes - hardly surprising in moving the story from page to stage - the play was remarkably loyal to the book and to its characters.

    All in all, an excellent production, funny, exciting, witty, poignant. If you get a chance to see it, do. You won't regret it.

     

    Posted at 06:57 PM in General Suggestions, Modern Masters, Private Eyes |

    Tags: Archie Goodwin, mysteries, mystery, mystery plays, Nero Wolfe, Park Square Theatre, Rex Stout

    Comments

    Feed You can follow this conversation by subscribing to the comment feed for this post.

    plus.google.com/116897478763124006190

    I am so envious! Nero and Archie are my favorites.
    joe allegretti

    Posted by: plus.google.com/116897478763124006190 | June 29, 2017 at 08:12 PM

    Les Blatt

    Joe, we keep hoping for somebody to produce the show elsewhere...such as NY...

    Posted by: Les Blatt | June 29, 2017 at 10:40 PM

    The comments to this entry are closed.

    Disclosure: Amazon Associates

    • As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
      That means that if you order anything from Amazon through a link from my site I get a small commission. As a result, I'd consider it a favor if you would consider making your purchases through my links. As always, though, if you have a local mystery book store, I encourage you to use them as your first choice. For anything else...thank you.

    The Backlist

    Bookmark This Page!

    Google Analytics