Laughter That Kills
Performed in the style of Alfred Hitchcock, this show never falls short of brilliant. With an A-list cast, including Brit Belsheim, C.J. Tuor, Caleb George, Alex Young, Mike Norris and Mel Evans, they killed this show- pun intended. In the opening scene, Evans and Tuor established that Tuor had killed a prostitute in their home while Evans was out at the social club showing off her new hat. In an effort to cover his crime, he insisted that Evans was to tell anyone who asked that Tuor had picked her up from the social club that evening, but all her socialite friends had seen her take the bus…
The show snaps to Belsheim and Evans socializing at the social club. Belsheim delivers the line, “My mother always said not to use lipstick because it’s like lying to men” which might have been one of my favorite and most unexpected lines of the show. Young is introduced as the social club “bad boy,” Fluffel Ronald and starts to make her moves on Evans and Belsheim. As the ladies dance the night away, thoughts of infidelity flitter through their minds as they begin to question the fact that Evan’s husband is having a guys night back at home with the notorious Stevie.
Cut to guys night with notorious Stevie (George). Stevie decides it’s time to liven things up a bit and calls on his Inuit prostitute (Belsheim) with requests for Eskimo kisses. Norris, Tuor, Stevie and Inuit play a friendly game of “Spin the Knife,” a drinking game commonly played at ivy league universities. Stevie and Norris encourage Tuor and the Inuit to have some alone time and feel what it’s like “thrusting” inside the other. As Tuor is torn about fraternizing with this Inuit, he worries about his wife dancing to jazz music at the social club.
Belsheim grabs the mic as the sultry jazz singer with backup band comprised of George and Tuor while Fluffel Ronald attempts to seduce Evans by swinging her around the club. The show wraps up as Evans insists on leaving Fluffel Ronald and grabbing the bus to head back home. Meanwhile you see the Inuit getting forceful with Tuor and he accidentally stabs her in his defense and she collapses to her death. Evans walks in to see Tuor standing alone for only a moment before the dead Inuit prostitute falls out of the powder room where Stevie and Norris were attempting to hide her. The opening scene is revisited and then Fluffel Ronald walks in the front door, bringing Evan’s hat back from the social club. Fluffel Ronald sees the fallen Inuit and confesses to her being the love of his life, but that Stevie had stole her from him. Threatening Stevie’s life, Fluffel Ronald opts to end his own life, Romeo and Juliet style. It was concluded that this was best for everyone and a good way for the Inuit to go, as she went to Princeton and “Spin the Knife” was her favorite game.
“She’s a Princeton girl?”
“All whores are.”
Lights.
The entire cast is dynamite and they still pulled this show off with half the time they usually have. It takes everyone to make this show happen, but Brit Belsheim played some of the most memorable characters and delivered an incredible performance Friday night. If you want to see Hitch*Cocktails, check them out Saturday nights at The Annoyance through the end of April.
