HOLLYWOOD, CA - The Night is stark. A street lamp burns alone, waiting for a tale of corruption, blackmail and murder to unfold underneath. It could be the set of 'Gun Crazy" or "Mickey Spillane's Kiss Me Deadly. We wait and watch for Mike Hammer himself to step out of the twilight and then it's there; the tilted hat and shadowy figure alone in the night, except the name is Rosalind, tough guy, and the Thrance has begun.
        Jessica Schroders's Outlaw Style Thrance Company holds hostage the notion that a play can't be strong theater and have it's characters dance with passion that imbues the work with even more depth then it might have otherwise had. The entire cast has the such strong acting chops and movement skills that its hard to tell which comes first for some, the theater, or the dance.
        The company's current work is called "Marry Me You Dick" and turns the classic precepts of Film Noir on their heads, spins then them around, stands them up and plays them out in classic style with all the twists, turns, and new gender switching plot points you can handle. Under the Direction of Cydfred and Lucius Bryant III, the ensemble embodies the mystery thriller and never crosses the line into tired parody, it is always fresh and  immediate.

      Author Larry McCarthy's dialogue and story is spot-on quick witted fun that jumps the play forward from scene to scene unfolding without a trace of who done it, how and why, until you need to know, just like the genre from which it takes its cues. At the outset when our detective is made a proposal to get married for cold hard cash she turns to the client and quips "I'm a P.I., not a womb for rent," and from that moment on McCarthy has us. Almost every scene plays into a musical underpinning, a dance subtext of the plot that moves to the likes of the Viscounts,Elmer Bernstein, Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin and Duke Ellington, and keeps the story grooving and jiving in a smart Noir style.

        Lets make it clear that it is Schroder as the tough chick Private Investigator Rosalind Riley, that is the heart and soul of the show, but her choreography is so intrinsic and inclusive, whoever she shares the stage with heats it up right along side her. Her delivery is deadbeat and dead on. She is the kind of performer you can't stop watching. Kelly Grete Ehlert delivers up a white hot Blonde nemesis and love interest in the character of Sadie Verago. "Sporting more curves than a scenic railroad", Sadie is sexuality, vulnerability and ex-felon all rolled into one great package and ready to spring. During their first number "King Rat" Sadie and Riely perform a sizzling mating dance with each move seemingly stretching a little further bent by the heat between the two. 

        As Riley's Pal and partner in crime solving Arimah Trinidad Joseph Beck as the Ingenue turned inside out, Daniel Albaneige, is just flat out funny. He delivers his lines right where they should be, on the edge of farce and keeping us with him. And Will Jude as Riley's guy Friday plays the roll with style and panache. The gangsters of the piece are aptly played by Victor Isaac as Quisling, Atim Udoffia as a terrific Two Pants Malone and Sean Ross as Duck. Isaac commands the stage and has a great physicality that he brings to Quisling, but I would have liked to see a little more finesse that his role calls out for. Ross brings constant nuance and character to each moment. 

        Every Film Noir has cops and "Marry Me..." is no exception. The only problem is Bart Shattuck as the understated Irish drunk lieutenant, Sully, had better watch out that Suzie  Heaton as Sarge his side kick, doesn't pull a crime herself and steal all the scenes from right underneath him.
        The cast is rounded out by Stephanie Bell as Maggie the bag lady, Michelle O'neil as Lulu, Andy Wolf as Sticky Balls Bender and Andy Bakkum as a wise cracking quick-move master,  Waffles, the Bookie. The entire cast never lets up in propelling the story forward and highlights include the top of Act II and "Bright Lights Big City,"  followed by "The chase."
        Of special note is the design crew headed By J. Phillips. Whether it is The lighting design by Kevin Cadwallader who uses his instruments to create the huge filmic shadows on the walls behind the characters or the sound team of Angus Charles and Eric Vesbit that lay in the thematic music throughout, The team has gone the extra mile for a cast and a production that makes for a great night of theatre. -  Kevin Kindlin

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