Wednesday
Oct142009
"Murder at the OK Corral" pokes fun at its own genre (Review)
Jeffrey Van Camp Wednesday, October 14, 2009 
Murder at the OK Corral
I don't usually review theater, but hell, it's my site. Plays are a lot like 3D movies anyway--except you don't need the funny glasses! Here's a piece I wrote for a local site, MIEntertainment.biz. I saw the show in little Paw Paw, Michigan this past Sunday.
The O.K. Corral is a symbol of the old west that never seems to die. There are countless plays, films, books, and movies set at the Arizona bar, which was host to one of the most famous gunfights in history. In the genre of watching a show about the making of a show--think The Muppet Show or 30 Rock, but in the old west--the Village Players in Paw Paw, Michigan put on Murder at the O.K. Corral.
The play opens with tyrannical director Hermet Von Kibbel (Leward Fluty) screaming at his team of actors on the set of Days of the OK Corral. It's a one camera, hokey old western TV show, but that doesn't make it any less important for the Von Kibbel to yell at his cast. He's the kind of guy who wears an eye patch, but can't seem to remember which eye it's supposed to be on.
Stoop Nasely (Roger C. Henderson), or "Ordinary Jones" as he's called on the show, is your classic old prospector, complete with a white scruffy beard and rootin' tootin' accent. (To get an idea of him, check out this old SNL Will Ferrell skit.) "Marshal Bat Bannister" (Paul Heim) is your classic good-looking western cowboy, though his real name is "Wilbur Wibly." Wisely, he's changed his name to Hoyt Hite. H is much higher in the alphabet.
Von Kibbel stages his own death to get everyone to put on "real" performances, but he soon dies for real. The hokey character actors must step out of their costumes to solve the mystery. It all ends a lot like an episode of Scooby Doo, but not before we learn that everyone is hiding something, and they are a lot crazier than their characters could ever hope to be.
Most performances were good, but a shout out goes to Rebecca Bettig who, with frizzed hair, plays Wendy Alapeno, Von Kibbel's manic, overworked assistant. Wendy secretly moonlights as "Cookie Le Jar," a Hollywood agent with an insatiable appetite for Oreos. She pulled in the most laughs and never breaks character, though she may end up breaking a leg. In one scene, she thrashes about the stage trying to make sure Von Kibbel has a chair wherever he decides to sit down. Her character wears knee-pads for good reason.
The first act lagged a bit, but the second act was great. The Paw Paw Village Players work well together and pulled in good laughs. The treater was about half capacity at the 3p.m. Sunday showing, and most left smiling.
If you get time, check out Murder at the OK Corral at the Paw Paw Village Players, 404 E Michigan Ave, Paw Paw, MI 49079 on Oct. 16 and 17 at 8 p.m. www.ppvp.org
The play opens with tyrannical director Hermet Von Kibbel (Leward Fluty) screaming at his team of actors on the set of Days of the OK Corral. It's a one camera, hokey old western TV show, but that doesn't make it any less important for the Von Kibbel to yell at his cast. He's the kind of guy who wears an eye patch, but can't seem to remember which eye it's supposed to be on.
Stoop Nasely (Roger C. Henderson), or "Ordinary Jones" as he's called on the show, is your classic old prospector, complete with a white scruffy beard and rootin' tootin' accent. (To get an idea of him, check out this old SNL Will Ferrell skit.) "Marshal Bat Bannister" (Paul Heim) is your classic good-looking western cowboy, though his real name is "Wilbur Wibly." Wisely, he's changed his name to Hoyt Hite. H is much higher in the alphabet.
Von Kibbel stages his own death to get everyone to put on "real" performances, but he soon dies for real. The hokey character actors must step out of their costumes to solve the mystery. It all ends a lot like an episode of Scooby Doo, but not before we learn that everyone is hiding something, and they are a lot crazier than their characters could ever hope to be.
Most performances were good, but a shout out goes to Rebecca Bettig who, with frizzed hair, plays Wendy Alapeno, Von Kibbel's manic, overworked assistant. Wendy secretly moonlights as "Cookie Le Jar," a Hollywood agent with an insatiable appetite for Oreos. She pulled in the most laughs and never breaks character, though she may end up breaking a leg. In one scene, she thrashes about the stage trying to make sure Von Kibbel has a chair wherever he decides to sit down. Her character wears knee-pads for good reason.
The first act lagged a bit, but the second act was great. The Paw Paw Village Players work well together and pulled in good laughs. The treater was about half capacity at the 3p.m. Sunday showing, and most left smiling.
If you get time, check out Murder at the OK Corral at the Paw Paw Village Players, 404 E Michigan Ave, Paw Paw, MI 49079 on Oct. 16 and 17 at 8 p.m. www.ppvp.org
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