Once a year, Pegasus Theatre stages a new “black and white” show. It is a long standing tradition. Each new show, written by Kurt Kleinman, is an homage to the heyday (1940’s -50’s) of film noir detective dramas. The brusque banter, understated alpha camp, cynicism that stands as a beguiling genre in the American Cinema Canon. These performances feature actors wearing a special gray makeup, special costumes and sets, designed to evoke the days before technicolor came to the silver screen.
The year is 1955. There’s a Top Secret Air Force Base (aka Paradise Ranch) where the highest level of National Security has been compromised. Our intrepid trio (Captain Foster, Nigel Grouse, and Harry Hunsacker) is summoned to the base, ready to set things right. It’s not long before homicide runs amok, with no apparent suspects. The Three Detectives are on the case. They bicker and squabble and Hunsacker makes his usual gaffes, whether it’s pretzel logic or unwittingly insulting someone. Grouse is nearby, most of time, to salvage the moment. It’s as if he’s channeling Gracie Allen, his guileless observations somehow endearing.
In the course of investigation, certain quandaries arise. The scientists involved are evasive and arrogant. Interlopers are casually coming and going to this fortress of solitude. Sam Phillips, a dashing, forceful G-Man arrives with his peppy, if somewhat stern assistant, Johnson. Two murders have occurred but all are baffled. Colonel Jean Hudson has been pondering using parallel universes to confront a past paramour. So many of these characters have secrets, and it won’t be easy.
Needless to say, most detectives aren’t called upon to solve murders in the realms of speculative fiction. Playwright Kleinman has fused two genres that often used black and white cinematography to its optimal effect. They may not have had any choice, but the true masters of film could make us swoon. The absurd, tongue-in-cheek antics of The Three are amusing and reassuring. The unmistakable tropes from classics like Forbidden Planet and The Maltese Falcon, the musical prompts when a jarring discovery comes, the slap happy gunplay, the painful memories of relationships that tanked. They are all here in this sublime, nostalgic, goofy celebration of dark, fanciful, deadpan ordeals.
Pegasus Theatre presented The Dimension of Death! From December 29th-January 22nd, 2023. Charles W. Eisemann Center, 2351 Performance Drive, Richardson, Texas 75082. 972-744-4650. www.eisemanncenter.com