LUTD to present ‘Dangerous Corner,” April 11-14
The stage is set to look like a quaint 1930’s living room, the tension in the air is thick.
Lamar University’s department of theatre & dance will present “Dangerous Corner,” by J. B. Priestly and directed by Sophia Watt. April 11-14 in the Studio Theatre. The play follows a group of family and friends following a dinner party.
“The play unravels everything that’s suspicious about my husband’s brother’s death,” Brianna Cobos, who plays Freda Caplan, wife to Robert Caplan (Jordan Albert), said. “As the play goes on, we start to figure out and open doors to the truth.”
We are introduced to the characters of Freda, Betty Whitehouse (Juliana McManus), Olwen Peel (Kiera Howington) and Ms. Maud Mockridge (Ren Hollier). A radio play, named “The Sleeping Dog,” has just finished with a blood curdling scream, and the ladies engage in pointed dialogue. The subject of Milton’s death is brought up by Mockridge and things go south from there.
“My character is one of the biggest clients of the firm,” Hollier said. “She’s got the biggest ear for gossip and basically the whole time she’s trying to dig deeper and get anything she can out of all the other characters. She’s responsible for setting everything off by asking all the right questions at the right time.”
The men walk into the drawing room and mingle with the ladies until Mockridge goes home, then the real drama starts. It is revealed that Olwen was with Martin just before his death, or so that’s what she says.
She claims that there was a check that had been stolen, and that Martin told her his brother, Robert,was responsible.
Throughout the rest of the production, Caplan leads the investigation, desperate to get to the bottom of his brother’s death.
“Somebody says the wrong thing, something they shouldn’t know about Martin’s death,” Albert said. “It’s a lot of back and forth: Why do you know this? How would you have known that?”
As the events unfold, we find out who actually stole the money. The relationships between the characters reveal a web of hidden secrets.
The family s rich and privileged, but Olwen is an outsider, Howington said.
“She loses her calm and collected manner as the show progresses and I think she is a very complex character,” she said.
Betty’s marriage to Gordon (Bailey Jenkins) is not as picture perfect as it seems.
“Betty came from riches,” McManus said. “She is your typical cliché popular girl and that shows throughout the play.”
As Robert’s investigation reveals various interconnecting truths and lies, he wrestles with his life, knowing he is the one who pushed this conversation in the first place, desperate for answers.
“Throughout the whole play, Robert is the one who is completely clueless to what could have been happening, even though it all takes place in his own home,” Albert said.
Although the play was written in 1932, it resonates still. The audience is asked to question what they think they know as truth, especially based on how much information we can only guess at.
Showtimes are 7:30 p.m., April 11, 12, 13, and 2 p.m., April 14. General admission tickets are $15, $10 for seniors, and $7 for students with LU ID. For tickets, visit lamar.edu/lutdtix.