Kate King-Turner

Audience members were treated to a riotous romp in the recent Sam Club, Private Eye, in the Case of the Malted Falcon, directed by Sandy Pallett. Sam, the clueless but fervent PI, was portrayed by Jim Janowski, and he nailed the part. Mary Vandergriff was fabulous and flirty as Velma Vavoomski, Sam’s addiction-ridden assistant. The Malted Falcon, stolen while en route to the museum, was the key to Robin Hawkins’ fortune. Mark Wenz played the outraged Robin to a T. Also affected by the robbery was TV chef and cookbook author Rachel Raven, masterly played by Cindi Decker. Lew Crawford convincingly engineered his Casey Stourbridge character, the penniless heir to a railroad tycoon family. Roger Edmonds was hilarious as the fishy falconer who constantly talked to the suspicious stuffed bird attached permanently to his forearm. Speaking of birds, Phyllis Novy was outstanding as Abigale Nightingale, the somewhat confused but very passionate bird advocate from Feathered Friends Freedom Foundation. Rounding out the cast was Roxy Banta as Miss Marbles, the famous mystery novelist, who deftly kept the audience apprised of all the nefarious action throughout the play. In a walk-on part, Michael Carter was suitably officious as the museum security guard, and Greg Posniack did a superb job of emceeing the show from start to finish.

Sun Lakes Community Theatre, a nonprofit, volunteer organization, performs live theater three times a year. The next show will be The Sweet Delilah Swim Club, directed by Merrie Crawford. It will run July 18 through July 22 in the San Tan Ballroom, Cottonwood. Tickets will be sold for $20 per person. Online and in-person sales will begin at 10 a.m. on June 21. Watch the Splash for more information in the coming months.