ANNA MARIA – The Island Players wrap up their 73rd season Sunday, May 15 at 2 p.m. with the final performance of their fifth play of the season, Sam Bobrick’s “The Psychic.”
Directed by James Thaggard and stage-managed by Denise Handley, this hilarious whodunnit keeps the audience laughing out loud, while at the same time trying to figure out who is killing off characters one by one.
A drab basement apartment in New York is home to struggling mystery writer Adam Webster (William Ashburn), who tries to pass himself off as a psychic for some quick cash. But when Adam issues a surprisingly genuine prediction to his beautiful first customer, Laura Benson (Jennifer Kwiatkowski), a string of inquisitive characters soon start showing up at his door, including Laura’s larcenous husband, Roy (Rick Kopp), Roy’s sex-obsessed mistress, Rita (Jennifer Caldwell), Rita’s mobster lover, Johnny Bubbles (Michael Sacco) and cultivated homicide detective Norris Coslow (Mark Shoemaker), all of whom factor into the evolving murder mystery that becomes Adam’s life.
“This is my 20th production as a director for The Island Players and I have performed in 25 plays here; I love this theater,” said director James Thaggard, who does a great job of keeping the audience guessing who the killer is while dropping subtle clues throughout the production. The fact that only one character changes costumes throughout the entire play is a hint to the final plot twist that is not easy to spot before the big reveal.
Before the start of the final performance of the season, Thaggard announced the five plays that will make up the 74th season, which will begin Sept. 15 and run through May 14, 2023. They are:
- Cliffhanger by James Yaffe (directed by Mike Lusk), Sept. 15-25
- I Ought to be in Pictures by Neil Simon (directed by Kelly Wynn Woodland), Nov. 3-13
- The Odd Couple (female version) by Neil Simon (directed by Preston Boyd), Jan. 12-29, 2023
- The 39 Steps by Patrick Harlow (directed by Heiko Knipfelberg), March 9-26, 2023
- How the Other Half Loves by Alan Ayckbourn (directed by James Thaggard), May 4-14, 2023
For box office information, audition dates and times and any other Island Players information, visit www.theislandplayers.org.
The Island Players thanks everyone who has volunteered their time behind the scenes, and all of the support from sponsors who make everything possible.
