Case Number 346: Sarah Mayes, an All Out Rep production at Gorilla Theatre, is an intriguing, at times beautiful murder mystery/dance event that finally is missing too many key elements to be fully satisfying.
This is a play that asks us to wonder if the people convicted of its title character’s murder are really innocent; but it gives us almost no information on the accused on or on anyone else who might have the least interest in seeing Mayes dead. Fortunately, the dance that punctuates the show’s episodes is top-rate and at moments thrilling, and the stylized acting by the five-member cast (there are also two dancers) is often haunting.
Since the show is so efficient – under 90 minutes, including an intermission – it’s never boring, even at its most vague. I was as mystified on the way out as I was curious on the way in, but I don’t for a moment regret having been there.
This article appears in Sep 2-8, 2010.
