There’s no story quite so delicious as a whodunit. But what if you know whodunit within the first 15 minutes? You’d assume the story wouldn’t be quite so compelling. But Proscenium Players, Inc.’s production of Prescription Murder will prove that assumption wrong.
Most mysteries ask audiences to figure out who committed the crime, but Prescription: Murder—the play by William Link and Richard Levinson that was turned into the pilot episode of the hugely popular Columbo TV crime series starring Peter Falk—gives the murderer away from the start. Instead, this play invites audiences to figure out how Lieutenant Columbo will solve the crime. And watching that solution unfold is, surprisingly, just as suspenseful.
Warren Schader, PPI’s president and the director of this production, said he grew up watching reruns of Columbo. (Many of us did, considering that it debuted in 1971 and ran for three decades.)
“I became an instant fan,” he said. “Peter Falk is a genius.”
One of the hallmarks of the show that made it so beloved was its unique approach: The audience sees a murder happen, from the murderer’s perspective, right off the bat. When the play was pitched as a series in the late 1960s/early 1970s, it wasn’t an easy sell. Nonetheless, audiences loved it, and actors did, too—many top stars, including such luminaries as Dick Van Dyke, Johnny Cash, William Shatner and Janet Leigh clamored to appear on the show as villains.
Another aspect of the story that appealed to audiences was Columbo himself. “He’s an anti-Sherlock Holmes,” Schader said. “While Sherlock Holmes is like, ‘I’m an intellectual,’ Columbo presents himself as a bumbling idiot. And that’s how he disarms everybody.”
Forgive the cliché, but it fits: Prescription: Murder, written in 1962, portrays a true cat-and-mouse game between a brilliant psychiatrist, Dr. Flemming (played by PPI’s Jeffrey Fast), who conspires with his mistress, Susan (Brittney Kinsey), right under the nose of his secretary, Miss Petrie (Nancy Padilla), to kill his possessive, annoying wife (Fredi Robin Springer). Every detail has been considered, and in many ways, it could be considered the perfect crime. Then Lt. Columbo (Gerard Reyes) comes calling.
In his rumpled trench coat, the sarcastic, raspy-voiced policeman chomps an ever-present cigar and asks questions that seem obvious and unnecessary, but there’s a method to the madness. Reyes was cast specifically for his strong, Peter Falk-inspired voice and characterization. Like gum on a shoe, Columbo keeps hanging around, observing things few others do, until someone slips up. You’ll be glued to your seat, eager to find out how Columbo will solve this one.
Schader made a few tiny adjustments for modern audiences, setting the play a bit later than its original 1960s time period. The result feels very Hitchcockian; I was reminded of an old favorite, Dial M for Murder, but with a few ’70s vibes. And fans of the old TV show will also love when the lieutenant brings out his old catchphrases.
Schader also explained that the original script paid little mind to the logistics of set changes; it calls for six changes across three scenes that rely on a small army of stagehands and long periods of time in the dark. PPI has a reputation for its set designs, and creative thinking helped them employ flexible set pieces, strategic lighting and window effects that can speed things up a touch. Both the sets and the costuming go a long way toward conveying the time period as well as nuances of characters.
The PPI team hopes to evoke fond memories for older audiences; introduce a whole new, younger audience to the charms of Columbo; and have all of them the edges of their seats as they await the telltale zinger: “Oh, just one more thing …”
Proscenium Players, Inc. presents Prescription: Murder in the Maizie Theater at the Brewery Arts Center, ay 449 W. King St., in Carson City. Showtimes are 7 p.m., Friday and Saturday; and 2 p.m., Sunday, through Sunday, Oct. 11. Advance tickets are $31.75, or $26.50 for students and seniors. Tickets purchased at the door cost an additional $5. For tickets and information, head to breweryarts.org/events.