Michael Mullen, Anna Petrovic and Joe Clabby (Photo by Eric Keitel)
Reviewed by G. Bruce Smith
Theatre 40
Through Feb. 18
RECOMMENDED
Strangers on a Train is best known as a 1951 Hitchcock film based on prolific author Patricia Highsmith’s novel. Having not seen the movie nor read the book, I was able to see the play at Theatre 40 without being influenced by the Hitchcock or Highsmith oeuvres. What I found was a production of an intriguing psychological thriller that nicely captures the era’s noir mood and melodrama.
Two young men meet on a train — the charismatic and slightly creepy Charles “Charlie” Bruno (Michael Mullen) and Guy Haines (Joe Clabby), an ambitious architect about to divorce his wife so he can marry his girlfriend. It doesn’t take long before Charlie introduces the idea that they could commit two perfect murders: Charlie would murder Guy’s wife and Guy would murder Charlie’s father. Neither would have a motive to kill their respective victims and could not be connected to them.
Guy does not take Charlie seriously, or maybe he takes him a little seriously. Charlie is a master manipulator and seems to cast something of a spell on the young architect.
Guy seems to have put behind him his encounter with Charlie, but Charlie comes back into his life — again and again. Spoiler alert, though not much of one: Charlie has killed Guy’s wife, and insists that Guy, in turn, murder the father.
This is the part of the plot that seems to have some rather large holes — Guy really didn’t have much of a motive to want his wife dead; he never agreed to Charlie’s proposal; he barely knows Charlie.
But Charlie is relentless. He cajoles, he blackmails, he crashes Guy’s wedding. And the pressure takes a great toll on Guy. And thus, the “holes” go away because what the play is ultimately about is the relationship between the two men. It’s a complicated, fascinating and tragic relationship.
Director Jules Aaron pulls the show together handsomely, from the acting to the set (Jeff G. Rack), costumes (Michael Mullen), lighting (Derrick McDaniel) and music that is seemingly pulled from the original movie score. All work together to capture the darkness of the plot as well as the era.
The cast is strong, but the standout is Michael Mullen, who masterfully portrays the spoiled, rich Charlie, digging into the alcoholic character’s complexities — his charisma, weirdness, facile use of language, child—like connection to his mother, and ultimately, his love for Guy. It’s a demanding role, and Mullen keeps the audience riveted — though he might consider bringing it down a notch when Charlie is clearly drunk.
All in all, Strangers on a Train is as seductive as Charlie and likely can be enjoyed with or without having seen the film or read the book.
Theatre 40, 241 S. Moreno Drive, Beverly Hills; Thur.-Sat., 7:30 pm., Sundays 2 pm; thru Feb. 18. https://www.theatre40.org. Running time: two hours and 15 minutes with an intermission.
