Playwright: adapted by Frances Limoncelli from the novel by Dorothy L. Sayers. At: Lifeline Theatre, 6912 N. Glenwood
Phone: 773-761-4477; $30. Runs through: June 21
An aristocrat-turned-sleuth rescuing a mystery writer from a charge of murder is hardly "meeting cute," but in 1930 Dorothy L. Sayers introduced Lord Peter Wimsey to Harriet Vane and, thus, was born one of the most romantic duos in detective fiction ( or detectives in romantic fiction, if you prefer ) . Lifeline Theatre reunited the couple in 2004 with its page-to-stage adaptation of Strong Poison, contracting the sweethearts' engagement in 2006 with Gaudy Night and their subsequent marriage with this final installment in the trilogy.
We open with the high-profile newlyweds having evaded the paparazzi by eloping to a picturesque cottage in the English countryside. No sooner do they arrive, however, than the house's previous tenant is found bludgeoned to death in the basement, leaving the flustered bride and groom to negotiate their post-nuptial accords while simultaneously tracking down a killer. But not for nothing did Sayers originally subtitle her narrative, "A Love Story with Detective Interruptions." By the time we are finished, the culprit has been exposed and the marital commitment reaffirmed.
And all in a swiftly-paced two and a half hours, too. Frances Limoncelli's tidy script proceeds smartly under Paul M. Holmquist's brisk, but never overhurried, direction. Peter Greenberg and Jenifer Tyler reprise their roles as the worldly lovers, flanked by Phil Timberlake as their unflappable ( well, almost unflappable ) butler. Millicent Hurley and James E. Grote as sturdy bucolic tradespersons. David Skvarla and Adam Breske as the local constabulary. And Rob Kauzlaric, Kate Harris, Paul Myers and Christopher M. Walsh as assorted suspects. ( Playgoers whose previous acquaintance with Lifeline's stock company of actors leads them to anticipate the identity of the criminal are requested not to share their theories with fellow audience members. )
In the end, however, our reward is not just who dunit—although Sayers provides plenty of speculative motives and means before the puzzle is resolved—nor is it merely clever stagecraft ( like the car headlights that signal the honeymooners' covert arrival at their rural refuge ) , but the author's ruminations on the forging of an ideal partnership between men and women desirous of such egalitarian relationships. As Lord Peter himself declares to Harriet and Bunter, "A man is rich in friends who has a good wife and a good servant, and I hope I may [ never ] give either of you cause to leave me"—a vow reflective of a literary genre invoking a universe substantially more orderly than our own.