Review: Who cares whodunnit in humorless mystery ‘Smoke and Mirrors’ at FST?

Jay Handelman, Sarasota Herald-Tribune
·4 min read
In the comedy mystery “Smoke and Mirrors” at Florida Studio Theatre, Ben Cherry, left, plays a film director, Jack Gerhard is the leading actor and Alberto Bonilla is the screenwriter.
In the comedy mystery “Smoke and Mirrors” at Florida Studio Theatre, Ben Cherry, left, plays a film director, Jack Gerhard is the leading actor and Alberto Bonilla is the screenwriter.

There were a few moments in the second act of Florida Studio Theatre’s production of “Smoke and Mirrors” when I thought this comic murder mystery might start finding its sense of humor to make up for an off-putting and occasionally offensive first half.

Maybe it’s me, but I just don’t see the humor in a potential suicide or a plot development that is now too reminiscent of the tragedy last October on the set of Alec Baldwin’s film “Rust,” when a crew member was killed by a gun that discharged with a live bullet.

It would have taken a gigantic shift in tone and style to change my strongly negative reaction, which simmered during the intermission.

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It did seem possible, however, with the arrival of actor Justin Ness as a Southern sheriff investigating the death of someone involved in a movie expected to be filmed on the Mississippi gulf coast. Though Ness, like the other actors, plays his role broadly, his good ol’ boy style is a temporarily welcome contrast to the snooty tone of the Hollywood types who are sure they could hoodwink a sheriff who they assume is dimwitted because of his accent.

He helped temper my feelings for a bit, but by the end, I was left wondering why the theater would once again produce produce this 1991 play by Will Osborne and the late Anthony Herrera, which it first presented in 2000. (I don’t believe I saw it the first time.)

The production is staged by Catherine Randazzo, who guides her cast through big, energetic and enthusiastic performances in her FST mainstage directing debut. They may not always be believable, but at least they are lively.

But the storytelling is confusing from the moment the lights come up on the beautiful and detailed set by Isabel and Moriah Curley Clay that is supposed to depict a beach house on a remote Mississippi island owned by the state’s governor. I know beach houses can come in many styles, but this one looks more like a mountain hunting lodge with its leather furnishings and wood walls and a brick fireplace accented by taxidermy. (Perhaps I’ve been living too long near much sunnier beachfront homes in Sarasota.)

Justin Ness plays a local sheriff and Alanna Smith plays a film director’s wife in the Florida Studio Theatre production of “Smoke and Mirrors.”
Justin Ness plays a local sheriff and Alanna Smith plays a film director’s wife in the Florida Studio Theatre production of “Smoke and Mirrors.”

The governor has offered his home to director Hamilton Orr and screenwriter Clark Robinson, who had a big hit with their last project, one that left Clark feeling burned because of changes Hamilton made before it was released. (He’s not complaining about the box office returns.) They are reunited once again with their handsome leading man Derek Coburn, who doesn’t have the kind of acting depth that Hamilton and Clark would prefer.

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We never know what the movie is really about or the character Derek is playing. But it doesn’t matter, as long as we understand Hamilton’s plan and realize that there’s no way it can go off as he expects, just like the gun involved.

Ness portrays Sheriff Leroy Lumpkin as a friendly sort with an intensive curiosity, a country-fied Columbo, who keeps coming back for just one more question about a case that doesn’t have many logical or engaging answers.

Jack Gerhard plays up the worst aspects of Derek in a way that makes it easy to understand why Hamilton and Clark would want to be rid of him as he struts and preens, showing off his body.

As Hamilton, Ben Cherry is a director who doesn’t know how to stop controlling the action. He oozes his way in and out of illogical twists, trying to cajole the right performances from the others about what to say to the sheriff. Alberto Bonilla is the put-upon writer who aims for quality in the words he puts on a page, and Alanna Smith is seductive as Hamilton’s wife, who keeps you wondering who she really cares about.

The play teases you at times into thinking a little Hollywood magic might whip the story into something more engaging, but by the end I could only wonder about all the other more deserving plays out there waiting to be staged.

‘Smoke and Mirrors’

By Will Osborne and Anthony Herrera. Directed by Catherine Randazzo. Reviewed Aug. 10. Florida Studio Theatre’s Gompertz Theatre, 1265 Second St., Sarasota. Extended through Aug. 28. 941-366-9000; floridastudiotheatre.org

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This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Sarasota’s Florida Studio Theatre misses humor, mystery in ‘Smoke and Mirrors’