Out of Sight... Out of Murder
by Fred Carmichael, directed by Doug Bergstein
Jan. 17-Feb. 2, 2020
Out of Sight... Out of Murder was the first Vermont Playwright's Award winner, produced in 1983. The play was subsequently published by Samuel French, and the Acting Edition bears the names of the original cast at the Valley Players.
The story revolves around Peter Knight, an author who is grinding out a murder story in an old mansion where another author was murdered years before. A weird electrical storm effects a cosmic snafu and his characters come to life. There's the lovely ingenue, the trusty butler, a feisty character woman, a dauntless hero, a fascinating "other woman," the always pregnant serving girl, and the wily lawyer waiting for midnight to read the will. Peter loses control of his characters and there is a murder; the intended victim is Peter. Other murders follow and the culprit is among characters who, having also worked for other authors, know a great deal about the subject. Can Peter find the killer before the killer gets his author? Is romance with the ingenue leading anywhere? Where is the fortune mentioned in the will? All is solved ingeniously with romance, suspense and cosmic wit.
The cast of the 1983 production
Photos by Alison Duckworth
The Cast
Peter Knight - Jesse Putnam (Warren)
Minna - Charlotte Robinson (Warren)
Lydia - Rachel Natvig (Northfield)
Cogburn - Brent Adams (Warren)
Kay Kelsey - Aimee Clement (Warren)
Fiona Babcock - Ruth Ann Pattee (Fayston)
Addie - Marci Robinson (Warren)
Dick Stanton - Louis Bronson (Warren)
Jordan Dillingham - Sal Spinosa (Waitsfield)
The Crew
Director: Doug Bergstein
Stage Manager: Mikki Nucci
Lights/Sound: Jasper Mayone
Set Construction: Jay Seekins
Set Design/Props:
Andra Kisler Krushenick
Costumes: Patty Smith
Front of House:
Betty & Jim McCaffrey
Photography: Alison Duckworth