Murder mystery involves audience

Are you looking to start little change in your life? Would you like to add a little spice, a little intrigue? We all do. But what would you do to get it? Some might go skydiving or take up needlepoint. For some though, that isn't enough. Some need it so badly, that they could kill.\nThis is one of the ideas that will be explored at the Brown County Playhouse with Bob Barry's "Murder Among Friends." This play bills as part comedy, part murder mystery, part thriller and all entertainment. WABC-TV describes the play as "a slick, sophisticated show with an offbeat comedy style that is modern, irreverent and very funny ..." \nThe gist of this farce is that every player seems to want someone dead. The audience's job is to figure it out, and Barry does not make it easy. This play makes you pay attention.\n"Everything is unexpected. There are a lot of twists and turns," said Coryell Barlow, portraying Angela Forrester and third year Masters of Fine Arts student here in Bloomington.\nWill it be the fading Broadway actor Palmer, or his independently wealthy and somewhat delusional wife Angela? What about the pretty-boy lover Ted Cotton, Palmer's agent? Angela and Ted, plan to murder Palmer during a staged robbery on New Year's Eve, but Palmer and Ted have an identical plan in store for Angela. Rest assured that someone will die. But who will it be, and who is the villain?\nThough it sounds as if one is likely to find Colonel Mustard in the study with a monkey wrench, this play hopes to supercede the traditional boundaries of murder-mystery farce. \n"There are a lot of the different elements of theatre in the show. There are moments of hijinks, one-liners, farce and suspense. Yet, there is a lot of grounding behind it all," said Wolf Sherrill, playing the part of Palmer Forrester courtesy of Actors Equity Association.\nKeeping it real while balancing the comedy seems to be the challenge that faces the cast and its director Dale McFadden. But the cast has confidence in its captain.\n"We're all comfortable and at ease, no misgivings. I have complete faith in whatever (McFadden) does," Barlow said.\nMcFadden, the newly appointed producer of the Brown County Playhouse, has served IU since 1985 and has recently become IU's director of theatre. He is aided by the costume design of graduate student Amanda Bailey, the lighting professor Robert Shakespeare, the scenic design of Chib Gratz and the stage management of seniors Casey Gray and Erin Gorman. \nThis rest of the cast combines under a healthy environment to provide a well-oiled machine for the audience. \n"The chemistry in rehearsals is very familiar," Barlow said.\nThese players include Jonathan Molitor, Chris Nelson, Melissa Nedell and Dane Bolinger. \nMurder Among Friends opens on today at 8 p.m. and continues Wednesdays through Sundays until Aug. 4 (the Aug. 4 curtain time will be 2:30 p.m.) at the Brown County Playhouse in Nashville, Ind. Audio description for the blind and visually impaired will be offered on the performance of Aug. 3. \nTicket prices are: $15 for Friday and Saturday performances ($8 for children 12 and under); $13 for Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday performances ($7 for children 12 and under). Tickets can be purchased by phone or in person at the Brown County Playhouse box office (812-988-2123), at the IU Auditorium Box Office (812-855-1103) or at any Ticketmaster outlet.