The wicked plot of Ira Levin’s “Deathtrap” unfolds at Kelsey Theater beginning on Friday, February 20. An opening night gala in the lobby follows the 8 p.m. performance. Performances continue on Fridays and Saturdays, February 21, 27, and 28 at 8 p.m., and Saturday and Sundays, February 22, 28, and 29, at 2 p.m. Tickets, $12, are available through the box office at 609-584-9444 or online at www.kelseyatmccc.org.
The 1978 play — made into a film in 1982 starring Michael Caine and Christopher Reeve — takes a satirical look at the murder mystery genre presented as a play-within-a-play. The story revolves around a play written by a student and an ever-thickening plot.
Paul Saunders of Plainsboro, who plays the role of lawyer Porter Milgrim, is among the ensemble actors in this presentation by Pierrot Production. He has had no formal training in acting or singing, but has been active in community theater all of his adult life.The former president of Princeton Community Players, Saunders at times has done as many as four to six plays a year as well as interactive murder mysteries with R&R Productions. Some of the productions he has appeared in include “Broadway Bound,” “Diary of Anne Frank,” “Lend Me a Tenor,” “The Odd Couple,” “Rumors,” and “Fiddler on a Roof.”
A financial and insurance consultant, Saunders has lived in the West Windsor and Plainsboro area for 26 years. His wife, Marci, is a property manager for a consortium in New Jersey. He has two grown children, a daughter who is a school teacher, and a son, a doctor.
He met Ruth Markoe of Lawrenceville, who is the director of “Deathtrap,” close to 13 years ago when they appeared together in Neil Simon’s “Last of the Red Hot Lovers.” “The cast is extremely skillful in finding and exploiting all the twists in the plot to maximize the audience’s experience,” says Markoe. “There is real chemistry with this group. They keep the audience guessing..”
