Props to illustrate travel by air, train, and foot

The rehearsal period for the FringeNYC production of You’ve Ruined a Perfectly Good Mystery! commenced last night at Mercury Players Theatre’s MercLab. The play had its world premiere at MercLab and it will be returning there July 15 for an encore run.

The first rehearsal was a read-through of the script and my first chance to hear modifications Rick Stemm and I made. There were three major changes:

• An airship chase sequence Rick devised that, if the cast’s reaction is indicative, will be a hit with audiences.
• A livelier opening for a scene at a gentleman’s club (one of two the audience can choose), where the investigator and his friend are accosted by a pair of club members.
• A modification to one of the endings, replacing the threat of a doomsday device with a supernatural threat — a reference to Victorian spiritualism.

Rick and I made some minor dialogue changes and additions that all worked when I heard them spoken. All but three of the original cast members are returning, and I was pleased with what I heard from the new actors. Emotionally the evening was an interesting blend: fondly remembering the entertaining adventure of last fall and feeling thrilled and a little jittery about the upcoming adventure, where so much will be new for me.