On Midnight Friday the 13th: A Deathly Funny Whodunit

HOUSTON, TX -- I love murder mysteries. Agatha Christie, Hercule Poirot, and Myself have solved many a crime. I learned so much, that with lesser writers, figuring out “Who did it?” has become an easy task. But that’s not the case with playwright Roger Furman, who borrows off one of Christie’s standalone novels, you know, the ones without a detective coming in to save the day. ‘On Midnight, Friday the 13th,’ brings Long Island to The Ensemble Theatre, in Midtown, Houston, on the occasion of an odd gathering of people known to Angus Black, the deceased, who has arranged with his passing, an assembly for the reading of his will. So each of the invited guests show up expecting to be richly rewarded, but will they survive the night?

Set in Amityville, New York, in June 1979, the infamous town where a serial killer had murdered his family just 5 years before, there is no doubt that something disastrous is on the horizon, and with a potential fortune on the line, just surviving can end in a huge payout.

The audience begins to know the characters with the initial phone calls by a lawyer to report the passing of Angus. Each is presented by individual lighting on the darkened stage, and it presents their differing eccentricities as they are introduced to the audience, letting them know that whatever happens on stage; laughter is in play, and hilariousness will be called for at all times.

Action begins at Redgrove Manor, with Maybelle the maid (Denise Dubolle), sneakily fixing herself a shorty, before Omar the butler (Brandon Morgan), catches her in the act, and shortly joins her. After the bottoms up, and some tokes on a reefer, they ready the parlor for the guest to shortly arrive. Of course, it’s gonna be a stormy night, lightning will prevail, and along with the mansion's faulty wiring, darkness will play its part in upcoming escapes from our planetary bounds.

The first guest rings as Omar claps his hands noting an arrival. It’s Madame Birdsong (Joyce Anastasia Murray), the transmedium/fortune teller, with headband and shaw befitting her station; she quickly pulls out her supernatural protection talisman/rabbit’s foot, to ward off evil spirits. The second arrival, O.J. Stillwell, a Korean War Veteran, still in uniform and hard of hearing, but when Whiskey is mentioned, his hearing suddenly improves. Lula White (Agnes Balka), then enters adorned in a leopard skin one piece; she is NYC’s criminal queenpin of drugs, vice, prostitution, and all things inbetween. Lula’s grandiose street talk is welcoming as she makes her way to the parlor bar. Next arrives La Grandessa (Wykesha King), the Hollywood star, who got out of New York and made something of herself, but you can’t take the inner city out of her. Her posh voice sets her aside from the others. After wetting her whistle and mingling a bit, she retires for a costume change, because that’s what Hollywood elitists do.

In the meantime, Stillwell, Lulu, and Birdsong engage in classic, old neighborhood ponderings. La Grandessa reenters to grand music, stunning everyone with her sparkling orange dress. Her opulence shows her station in life, and it’s a wonder why she didn’t arrive with a ladies maid. Then crash (read fast), a lightning strike, the lights flicker, the doorbell rings, Omar claps, and the last victim, I mean, the wayward niece (and only blood relative) of Angus Black, Olivia Green (Tyne Jeanae) makes her entrance, clad in bell bottom pants, roller skates, sporting a classic 70’ Afro with her sassy self. STOP! You can breathe now. Whew!

The production is filled with so many funny moments that your jaw will be sore at show’s end. The audience discovers the relationship of each character with Angus Black. I enjoyed the interactions in the realm of mysteriousness, such as Madame Birdsong’s chill, or O.J’s trance. Then que La Grandessa’s costume change, tada!

It was, well, heck … the actors thrived off the laughter. The dialogue was masterfully done, if anyone slipped a line, no one could tell because of the alcohol consumed (by the actors on stage). The song ‘Le Freak,’ by Chic, the 1970s band, really had the audience rocking, along with the action on-stage, of which the supposed wheel-chair bound Stillwell happily gets down with Olivia and La Grandessa. There is even some bathroom humor in Madame B’s pee breaks. The first one will have you rolling, with Birdsong’s intermission being cut short by a rather large rat attempting to run up her leg. She runs back to the parlor with bloomers below her knees, with a trail of excreta following close behind, and it had the audience rolling.

One hour before midnight, the first of two tapes is played, revealing a $1 million dollar grand prize, with 5K per month for life, of which the voice of Angus Black reveals, “It’s a test of life and death.” Everyone is then locked in the house, and the real fun begins. Stillwell is struck with a trance-like state, lightning, lights go out, then BAM!!! Someone is lying on the floor … DEAD!!!! And that’s just the beginning.

‘On Midnight, Friday the 13th’ has a wonderful cast of talented actors, and Directors Eileen Morris/Rachel Dickson, have done an incredible job in coaxing every drop of comical ability out of their players. I was deeply impressed with the professional look of the set, of which James Thomas and Philip Graschel, and the crew deserve a round of applause for their efforts. Some may call OMF the 13th a ‘cheap murder mystery,’ with audience laughter at every turn and expiration, but it’s a welcomed break from the real world, and moments away from that, are very precious. And the kicker at the end will have everyone leaving the theater with a wide smile.

I highly recommend the play. It was first produced at The Ensemble Theatre, back in 1983, chosen by the theatre’s founder, George Hawkins, as an homage to playwright Roger Furman, and his rich legacy with the American Negro Theatre in New York. The work is designed for audience participation, as the march continues to find who the murderer is. There is no doubt, you will be entertained. And you will be surprised by …. who actually dunit.

The show runs through June 2nd. For tickets: ensemblehouston.com/2023-24-season/on-midnight-friday-the-thirteenth

Ruben can be reached at: ruben@montgomerycountynews.net

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