SEXTUPLE INDEMNITY
nytheatre.com review by Josephine Cashman
August 15, 2003
Sextuple Indemnity is an
enjoyable take on the film noir genre with some gender role reversals.
Written and directed by Dana M. Gross, it follows hard-nosed female PI
Amanda Shepard (played by Lauren Terilli) as she tackles her latest
case, complete with the usual plot twists and multiple entendres.
Amanda’s client, Xavier Rated (X-rated. Get it?), is looking for proof
of his wife’s infidelity. Played by Matthew Sergi, he has more than a
passing resemblance to the dashing men of the 1940s cinema. The audience
is in for a rollicking time. The director makes marvelous use of its simple set, and a running gag involving the door to Amanda’s office never fails to amuse. The swing-dancing set changers also keep the show moving as the scene shifts from Amanda’s office to the local lounge to a street corner, complete with the standard lamppost.
The cast is strong and has the witty repartee down pat. Clearly, they understand their roles and it’s obvious how much fun they are having, although at times the pace lagged. Most hilarious are Ara Glenn-Johanson as Maggie, Xavier’s trusted secretary, and Devin Proctor as the Bartender of the Pink Flamingo, who both turn in some laugh-out-loud moments with their timing and pratfalls.
There are some marvelous nods to such films as Rear Window and Casablanca, but Sextuple Indemnity feels more like a faithful adaptation of a noir story, albeit with a few self-aware nods, than an outright spoof. The show is quite entertaining and certainly fun. It would have been more fun, however, if the gender twists were more, well, twisted.
