By Joseph Szalinski
The world is full of dummies. Despite the genocide I’ve recreationally waged against my brain cells, I like to think I’m not one of them. I mean, I can count the number of people who are smarter than me on one hand. Although that’s as high as I can count. We smart folk have all attempted to prove our intellectual superiority in various ways, some benign and some more dangerous. Decades before geniuses could show off by making random references in theatre reviews, one of our only outlets was crime. And it’s under these conditions that the scene is set for Hobnob Theatre Co’s production of Rope, directed by Duane Peters, now running at Hobnob Studio Theatre in Butler, PA.
Written in 1929 by playwright Patrick Hamilton, the long-lost brother of Alexander, and the writer who is often associated with being the scribe behind the play Gaslight, of which he is not the author. I wrote it. Everyone knows that—Rope follows Wyndham Brandon and Charles Granillo after they have murdered a younger classmate named Ronald Kentley. The duo of British Jeffrey Dahmers then hosts a buffet, which is served off a chest that contains Kentley’s body, in the first-ever Trunk or Treat event. Paranoia is stoked, and things get awfully tense in the presence of Kentley’s friends and family, which is expertly expressed by the cast.
Leading the charge is Sam Thinnes as Wyndham Brandon, who is marvelous in this malicious role. His accent and mannerisms creepily convey Brandon’s sense of superiority and misguided genius. Likewise, his movements are cautious and calculated until his manicured façade gives way to the frightened wretch within.
Second banana to Brandon is the fearful Charles Granillo, who has something to get off his chest, or rather, out of effortlessly embodied by Giancarlo Zingarelli. Granted, he’s great in concert with the other performers, but he really shines in his nonverbal moments of mounting madness, which are terrifically telegraphed.
Greg Crawford is masterful as the cunning Rupert Cadell, a hobbled mentor to the two murderers who realizes something fishy is afoot. When not teaching or authoring poems (who likes doing that?), he enjoys reading Nietzsche, academia’s favorite misquoted syphilitic. Whether he’s monologuing, playing off his scene partners, or silently leafing through a book, Crawford commands the stage.
Leila Arden and Kenneth Raglan, two of the younger guests at the party, serve as refreshing foils to the suspicious and serious cohorts who invited them over. These spirited comic reliefs are respectively portrayed by Laila Tyler and Cole Myers, both of whom do a splendid job of lightening the mood when it’s dreadfully needed.
Rounding out the cast are Molly Miller as Sabot and John Heny Steelman as Sir Johnstone Kentley. The former brandishes a fun, French accent and accentuates tense dynamics with Brandon, while delighting in Cadell’s basic respect. The latter projects sincerity and innocence, making the crime committed against his character’s son all the more heartbreaking. Really chokes one up.
What would a show be without its technical elements? Costumes by Danyle Verzinskie, Elizabeth Smith, and the cast help bring the characters to life. Props and set decorations by Danyle Verzinskie, Alyna Sanchez, Steve Kalina, Ron Verzinskie, and Steve Kalina Sr. litter the land of make-believe with tangible tokens of terror. Director Duane Peters brilliantly conceives set Design, while Verzinskie and producer/sound designer Ken Smith expertly handle its construction.
Hobnob Studio Theatre’s intimate venue is perfectly immersive as Brandon and Granillo’s apartment, cloistered quarters that gradually become a little too claustrophobic for the characters inside. Hobnob not only knows how to curate shows that constitute tremendous seasons, but also productions that skillfully use their space.
-JS
Rope continues its sold-out run March 19th-21st at Hobnob Studio Theatre in Butler, PA. For tickets and additional information, click here.
