If the butler did it, he should have been fired

By CHARLES HEWITT NEWS Theatre Reviewer

Last Thursday, South Tahoe High School presented "The Butler Did It," a sad piece of theatre parented by Tim Kelly and directed by Linda Babitch.

Not an original idea for a plot, (I believe I watched something on TV with Peter Falk not too long past along the same theme), the play takes established characters from various detective novels by excellent authors and tries to bring them to life on stage; i.e. Miss Maple (Miss Marple, an Agatha Christie character), Chandler Marlowe (from Phillip Marlowe by Ramond Chandler), Louie Fan (Charlie Chan by Earl Derr Biggers) and Rick and Laura Carlyle (created so masterfully as Nick and Nora Charles in "The Thin Man" stories by Dashiell Hammett.)

The best portrayal of a character was that of Mitch Della-Russo as Chandler Marlowe. He came on strong and maintained his character to the end.

Another good characterization was that of Louie Fan by Jason Rispin, although he was somewhat encumbered by a broken Chinese fan that he had to repeat every time he used it – and that use was in excess. Also well done was father White, portrayed by Bill LeDoux, who kept in character until he had to become a bad clone at the end – and reveal an alter ego.

I especially noticed Rita, the social secretary to Miss Maple, played by Tammy Della-Russo, who, I would guess is a sister to Mitch Della-Russo. Mitch is well-known for his fine work in previous productions, and I certainly hope there are more of this family to follow in his and Tammy's footsteps, for I would bet that one day we will see the Della-Russo name up in theatrical lights.

Mary Hitchcock, who played Laura Carlyle, is a stately blonde with a models flare for wearing clothes. Her characterization was stronger than that of Laura's husband, Rick Carlyle, played a bit too fey by Bill Seymour (who also took a double roll as Rick's twin brother).

This production needed those dangling microphones I complained about in past productions, as the players did not project too well – and I had to move towards the front three times just to try to hear the dialogue without straining. (I finally selected a seat in the third row, where the screams nearly brought me out of my skin.) The best projection was by the grand piano played too shortly by Chandler Marlowe.

In the best of stage productions, unexpected things do happen that are not in the script. In a melodrama, these things are funny; in a mystery play, they're not. A couple of sloppy corners to "The Butler Did It" included the feet and legs which could be seen protruding beyond the curtain and onto the set, and the hand which came out to try to close a bulky door to offstage that wouldn't stay closed.

Tahoe Daily Tribune, March 1981