Stage Review - The Smell of the Kill (Bremerton Community Theatre)
Stage Review - The Smell of the Kill
Presented By: Bremerton Community Theatre (BCT) - Bremerton, WA
Show Run: May 17 - May 26, 2024
Date Reviewed: Friday, May 24, 2024 (Closing Weekend)
Reviewed By: Greg Heilman
I find one of the most unfortunate struggles I have when covering so much theatre across such a wide area is that I don’t get to see everything, or everyone. Sometimes I get to see a show, but it’s in the last week or weekend of its run and there’s no way to get the review out in time to help promote the show, which if I’m being honest is my goal here, to be able to let the community know about the great art that is being performed on the stages around the Sound. The Smell of the Kill is the perfect example of this. The show just closed this past weekend (Sunday, May 26), and because its run was short at only two weeks, and due to previous commitments, I could only make it during its final few days. The show ran on stage in the Robert B. Stewart Performance Hall at Bremerton Community Theatre in a production directed by Eric Wise and featuring Ashley Corbaley, Sarah B. Denison, and Shannon Richards as three wives (Nicky, Debra, and Molly respectively) in different emotional stages of their marriages, each facing a fight or flight (or freeze) decision within their unions.
The story takes place at Nicky’s house, as it’s her turn to host her friends and their husbands, a tradition that the three repeat every month in a rotation. The men, never seen on stage but very much heard, are voiced by Casey Cline (Jay, Nicky’s husband), Andy Jordan (Marty, Debra’s husband), and Eric Wise (Danny, Molly’s husband). While the girls gossip about their friend who is noticeably absent from this month’s get together, or each other when one leaves the room, the men are playing games in the other room and demanding that their wives wait on them, but at the same time not interrupt their entertainment in doing so. There are a few conclusions that are easy to come to early on, the men are egotistical and controlling jerks, and their wives will talk about anyone or anything when they don’t think the person they’re talking about is in earshot. It also appears that Jay is being indicted, surely heading to jail, Danny is smothering and controlling, and Marty is a philanderer. These things all weigh on the women, Nicky who has already started figuring out how to live on her own, Molly who wants nothing more than to have a baby, which is a conflict between Danny and her, and Debra, who seems to be the only one taking the husbands’ sides in any of the conversations, so much though that it seems something is amiss there as well. The challenge here for the ladies is what to do when their husbands accidentally get trapped in a meat locker in Nicky’s and Jay’s basement. The early part of the play, when the audience is coming up to speed on each character’s backstory, is good, but it’s at this point, when the wives are facing down a decision that could potentially solve all of their problems, that the production turns a corner.
It is very good and that is predominantly because of this cast. This may be the best I’ve seen from Ashley, she really comes into her own in this role, delivered strong and confidently, full of sarcasm and wit, and an angry edge that is really fun to watch in this darkest of comedies. I guess I never mentioned this is a comedy. Well, it is, it’s dark, and very funny. Shannon’s Molly is full of surprises, which all become apparent when she has one, or two, or three too many drinks, much to the displeasure of her husband. Molly begins the show apparently fully obedient in her relationship with Danny, but with each drink, she unravels more and more, and watching Shannon transform this character is extremely entertaining. Speaking of unraveling, which honestly each of these ladies does, Sarah’s Molly does an excellent job fighting the good fight, until she just can’t anymore. As each of these characters go further and further off the rails, The Smell of the Kill gets better and better.
And what Eric Wise has done here, putting this production together, is another contributing factor to why it works so well. The set seems simple enough, a well appointed middle class kitchen. There’s not a detail left out, though, in the kitchen or in the delivery of the show. Note the manner in which the article about Jay’s indictment is mounted to the inside of the pantry in the kitchen, or the two-way baby monitor that plays a big role here. The only thing that could have been improved is the lighting on the kitchen table, in a scene when Debra goes to sit down there, the table is slightly out of the light. Otherwise, it’s a solid production from a solid team, and on Kevin Matthew’s light and sound, that’s the only thing that maybe wasn’t perfect.
The Smell of the Kill may have closed this past weekend at Bremerton Community Theatre, but it’s a good enough production that it is most certainly worthy of getting the word out about it. The cast, under the direction of Eric Wise was excellent in their delivery, confident, natural, and strong. The production design was sound, and put together, my only wish for this production is that it would have had a longer run so more people could see it.
The Smell of the Kill closed at Bremerton Community Theatre on Sunday, May 26. For more information on the theatre and upcoming shows, visit https://www.bctshows.com/.
Photo credit: Kathy Berg
