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Centenary Stage opens with a murder mystery sprinkled with comedy, 'Deathtrap'

| 25 Sep 2013 | 12:56
    Photo Credit Bob Eberle Jon Mulhearn as Clifford, Maria Brodeur as Myra, Carl Wallnau as Sidney, and Colleen Smith-Wallnau as Helga.
    Photo Credit Bob Eberle Jon Mulhearn as Clifford, Maria Brodeur as Myra, Carl Wallnau as Sidney, and Colleen Smith-Wallnau as Helga.
    Photo Credit Bob Eberle Carl Wallnau as Sidney, Maria Brodeur as Myra, and Jon Mulhearn as Clifford.
    Photo Credit Bob Eberle Carl Wallnau as Sidney, Maria Brodeur as Myra, and Jon Mulhearn as Clifford.
    Photo Credit Bob Eberle Carl Wallnau as Sidney, Maria Brodeur as Myra, Jon Mulhearn as Clifford, and Colleen Smith-Wallnau as Helga.
    Photo Credit Bob Eberle Carl Wallnau as Sidney, Maria Brodeur as Myra, Jon Mulhearn as Clifford, and Colleen Smith-Wallnau as Helga.

HACKETTSTOWN — Ira Levin’s "Deathtrap" is a chilling murder-mystery running Oct. 4 to 20 at The Centenary Stage Company in The David and Carol Lackland Center.

Deathtrap is a play within a play following the struggles of Sidney Bruhl, a successful writer of Broadway thrillers battling a crippling dry spell. Sidney has experienced a string of flops and a shortage of funds when suddenly help seems to come from out of nowhere. He receives a script in the mail from a student in the seminar he has been conducting at a nearby college — a thriller Sidney recognizes as a potential Broadway hit. What happens next is the stuff of Deathtrap.

Award-winning Artistic Director Carl Wallnau will be directing and also starring in this complex thriller that he calls “one of the best constructed plays.”

The five person cast includes local actress Maria Brodeur (Rockaway) who has been seen on the CSC stage in "A Christmas Carol," "Oliver," and "How to Pray." Playing the role of the young playwright Clifford is Pennsylvania Shakespeare alum Jon Mulhearn (Jersey City), who was seen in last season’s thriller "Mousetrap." Making his CSC debut is experienced actor/director Paul Whelihan (Bloomfield). And rounding out the cast is Broadway (Crazy For You) and Regional Theatre veteran Colleen Smith-Wallnau (Hoboken). Emmy Award-winning designer Bob Phillips has once again been chosen to beautify the stage of the Sitnik Theatre with his life-like set design.

Tickets for Deathtrap range from $25 to $27.50 with discounts for students and seniors. Every Thursday night is “Family Night,” which offers a 2-for-1 rush ticket price when purchased at the door. Performance times are Thursdays at 7:30 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. There are 2 p.m. matinées Wednesdays Oct. 9 and 16 and for the Preview Performance on Friday, Oct. 4 at 2 p.m. Deathtrap is sponsored by Bea McNally’s Irish Pub, Old Souk Trading Company, and Heath Village Retirement Community.

Tickets may be purchased online at www.centenarystageco.org, at the CSC Box Office located in the David and Carol Lackland Center at 715 Grand Ave in Hackettstown, or by calling 908-979-0900. The Box Office is open 1 to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, and two hours prior to performance times. The Box Office on 217 Main Street is open once more from 3 to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday.