Reality, fiction mix in Tom Stoppard’s whodunit satire

MONMOUTH — The Theater at Monmouth will continue Season 46 with Tom Stoppard’s whodunit satire “The Real Inspector Hound,” with a preview performance scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Thursday, July 30. A parody of the Agatha Christie-style parlor mystery, the play explores the thin line between the audience and the stage, as Stoppard fractures reality, and life imitates art.

“’The Real Inspector Hound’ embodies all that we now associate with Stoppardian theater,” said director Matthew Arbour, who returns to TAM after directing Tartuffe in 2012. “(It has) a mix of seriousness with farce, a relish for all kinds of word-play, a passion for elegant dramatic structures, and a breathtaking balancing act at the intersection of reality and fiction,” Arbour said.

Feuding theatre critics Birdboot and Moon, a fusty philanderer and a pompous second-stringer, are swept into the whodunit they are reviewing. As mists rise about isolated Muldoon Manor, Moon and Birdboot become dangerously implicated in the lethal activities of an escaped madman. This madcap romp spoofs third-rate thrillers and pretentious critics in a relentless dash to answer the question, “Where is Higgs?”

The play features Mark S. Cartier as Moon; Bill Van Horn as Birdboot; Janis Stevens as Mrs. Drudge; Jordan Coughtry as Simon Gascoyne; Anna Doyle as Felicity Cunningham; Nisi Sturgis as Cynthia Muldoon; Michael Dix Thomas as Major Magnus Muldoon; Andy Blaustein as Inspector Hound, and Alan Estes as Dead Body. The set design is by Dan Bilodeau, costumes by Grier Coleman, lights by Stephen Jones and sound by Rew Tippin.

Performance calendar:

Thursday, July 30, 7:30 p.m.; Friday, July 31, 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, Aug. 1, 1 p.m.; Tuesday, Aug. 4, 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, Aug. 8, 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, Aug. 9, 1 p.m.; Friday, Aug. 14, 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, Aug. 16, 7 p.m., post-show talk-back.; Thursday, Aug. 20, 7:30 p.m.; Friday, Aug. 21, 1 p.m.

Ticket prices range from $10 to $30, opening nights are Educator Nights. Educators receive 20 percent off with photo ID; $10 under-30 rush tickets are available for every performance. Discounts available for groups of 10 or more.

For calendar and reservations, contact the box office at 207-933-9999 or visit www.theateratmonmouth.org.