Kill the Moment

Reviewed by Holly Bartges

Mystery thriller flags someone or several someone’s are going to get knocked off. Mystery thriller signals not everyone is going to be whom they say they are, the first time around, or even the second and third. Mystery thriller spotlights there will be several twists and upside down turns throughout the course of action, and always, at the climax, a surprise. With that formula, it is relatively easy to stay one step ahead of the plot, and consequently there are no surprises. Such is the case for director/producer/playwright, Scott Gibson’s new mystery thriller, Kill the Moment currently playing at The Buntport Theatre under the flagship Conundrum Productions.

From Left to Right: Jillann Tafel (Carol Ann), Stephen Pearce (Gus), Josh Hartwell (Trent) and Missy Moore (Gina) surrounding an unidentified body.

It might help if the term mystery thriller was expunged from the play entirely. In spite of the holes in the terminology that allows one to see through the plot, Gibson’s direction, the expertise of the four highly energetic cast members, and the gorgeous set designed by Biz Schaugaard, Kill The Moment is a delightful romp through denial, suspicion, greed, and delicious calculated take over risks of who what and how to get away with murder. With amusing and logical dialogue, Gibson allows the four first-rate actors to get their teeth into the suspicious personas.

Gina, deliciously played with highlighted control by Missy Moore, and Carol Ann, delectably played with intense grandeur by Jillann Tafel, have moved from Los Angeles to a remote mountain retreat near Nevada City, California.

On a dark and cold night, Gina picks up what she thinks is a stranded motorist. He tells her his name is Trent, and he just needs to use the phone to call his friend Gus. Wearing a cloak of being uncomfortable, actor, Josh Hartwell wraps himself in the discomfort of I-really-need-to-get-out-of-here-and-back-to-the-car-as-soon-as-possible-because-I-
can’t-impose-on-you-any-more-than-I-have-syndrome with grand aplomb. That’s only one color of the chameleon Hartwell wears. He changes color often. He does so with grace, dignity and scheming humor, even though know from the beginning he’s up to no good.

Gus does indeed arrive at the door, as a Deputy Sheriff. Step Pearce gives Gus the suspicious life force surrounding him. You just know he isn’t who he says he is. The beauty of a well-written mystery thriller is actors have opportunity to change identities frequently, giving their wings room to fly. All four of these actors know how to fly, giving substance to their conniving world.

The plot unravels semi truths. Gina is recognized as Katherine Novello, a once popular soap opera star, whose husband was mysterious killed. A trail jury found Gina not guilty. Although this is a primary focus to the play, it doesn’t give anything away as far as the roller coaster upside ride the plot provides.

The intimate surroundings of the Buntport Theatre add to the fantasy of the dips and abrupt swings in the lives of these four well thought out perfectly chiseled characters. Much of the hilarity written into the script comes from the dry, dark, aloof humor supplied by the four artists. I wouldn’t spoil the fun by giving away any more of the plot, but the clues are there.

Conundrum Productions began in 1999 with its first production at The Denver Civic with three one-act plays entitled Once Upon A Midnight Dreary. Conundrum has come a long way, and Scott Gibson is a playwright to watch. Undoubtedly, the obvious clues in Kill The Moment wouldn’t be so obvious if he removed mystery thriller from the play’s description. Mystery thriller or no, Pearce, Hartwell, Moore, and Tafel bring the plot and characters richly to life from curtain up to curtain down.