By Valerie J. Mikles
When the curtain rises, you’ll be struck by the stunning and ambitious multi-level set. The deep maroon accents give a rich feel, the in situ lights and fire glow ominously, and you’ll never guess where all the secret compartments are hidden. Set designer Dan Lavanga and set dresser Roy Hammond have created a gorgeous interior of an old Victorian house that sets the mood for murder.
Bowie Community Theatre’s latest production, Web of Murder by Jonathan Troy, is a whodunit murder mystery in a classic style. It’s filled with family drama, creepy clues, and more than one twist to keep you guessing.
Minerva Osterman (Jeanne Louise) is a domineering, ailing matriarch who invites her wealthy family to the mansion for a reading of her will — an event she wants to lord over them while she’s still alive. The wheelchair-bound woman lives with her spineless daughter (Melanie Belkin), her shrewd housekeeper (Rosalie Daelemans), and a mysterious doctor (Roy Hammond), all of whom are gritting their teeth so they won’t be disinherited. When Minerva’s nieces arrive with two unexpected guests, Minerva informs them that she knows she will be murdered soon and that several of them will die with her. Panic, hijinks, and murder abound in this tangled caper, though without a detective leading the case, it is up to the audience to piece together the clues. No one is above suspicion.
Jessie Duggan lights the stage as the animated, over-the-top Belle Hamilton. Duggan and Tatum Moss (playing ex-con Pete Martinelli) match their body language and stylized speech to heighten the characters’ chemistry and create an entertaining and endearing couple. Duggan foils perfectly off Dana Fleischer, who plays her sister, Mary Hamilton. Where Duggan is outrageous, Fleischer is poised and prim. Fleischer carries much of the show’s movement, being both strong and vulnerable as she draws out the clues and backstory from the other characters.
Louise anchors the show as the mean-spirited Minerva, dominating and taunting her family, but revealing unexpected layers as the show progresses. She’s supported by a strong cast, all of whom give great performances. Melanie Belkin as the worn-down Stephanie Osterman stole my heart every time, because I really wanted her to escape the mother who treated her like a servant and held her hostage.
The sound design team of Mo Gaia, Sally Dodson, and Randy Tusing brings an unexpected, but noteworthy element. The use of mood music underneath the dialogue adds intrigue to the exposition. They work in concert with the lighting design team of Collin Griese, Nicholas Mudd, and Randy Tusing to never let you forget that it is a stormy night in a gloomy mansion surrounded by ravenous, murderous dogs. The use of lamps around the set creates a wonderful, eerie vibe. As a three-act show, there are one-and-a-half acts before intermission and one-and-a-half acts after. The lighting and sound design use their elements as glue to transition between acts.
There were a few imbalances in the set that sometimes distracted me from the performance, namely the cluster of chairs blocking the fireplace and the too-small couch that often had three people squeezed onto it. While director Randy Tusing did a good job of creating balance in the blocking, at times I felt the characters were moving in circles for the sake of moving. Some perceived imbalances may have been to keep the paths wide for the wheelchair and for the sheer number of corpses that had to be hauled off the stage.
Story-wise, a few threads never got woven into the plot, leaving the motives of the individual characters too nebulous to grasp. This led to one of my murder-mystery pet peeves: the killer’s reveal speech brought a lot of brand-new information rather than weaving in tidbits or clues that had been scattered along the way.
Regardless, the actors truly breathe life into the characters, making the show engaging and fun to watch. Overall, it was a delightful night out and was well-received by the audience. I’m glad BCT is bringing its signature murder mystery shows back to the stage.
Running Time: Two hours, including one 15-minute intermission and a raffle.
Web of Murder plays through November 16, 2025 (Friday and Saturdays at 7:30 PM and Sunday matinees at 2 PM), presented by Bowie Community Theatre performing at Bowie Playhouse, 16500 White Marsh Park Dr., Bowie, MD. Purchase tickets ($25, general; $20, seniors and students) online, by phone at the BCT Hotline at 301-805-0219, or by email (boxoffice@bctheatre.com) prior to the performance date.
Web of Murder
Written by Jonathan Troy
Directed by Randy Tusing
CAST
Nora, The Housekeeper: Rosalie Daelemans
Stephanie Osterman: Melanie Belkin
Minerva Osterman: Jeanne Louise
Mary Hamilton: Dana Fleischer
Keith Latimer: Andrew Rappa
Belle Hamilton: Jessie Duggan
Pete Martinelli: Tatum Moss
Dr. Adler: Roy Hammond
The Woman: Lauren Barnes
PRODUCTION TEAM
Producers: Alan & Penni Barnett
Director: Randy Tusing
Stage Manager: Penni Barnett
Set Designer: Dan Lavanga
Costume Designer: Linda Swann
Set Dresser/Decorator: Roy Hammond
Properties Designer: Roy Hammond
Sound Designer: Mo Gaia, Sally Dodson, Randy Tusing
Lighting Design: Collin Griese, Nicholas Mudd, Randy Tusing
Sound and Lighting Crew: Bowie Playhouse Staff
Valerie J. Mikles is a Ph.D. astronomer who made a career leap to work on weather satellites. Balancing her science life, she fills her free time writing novels, playing songs on her ukulele, and vacuuming cat hair. Her motto in life is “I can be everything I want, just not all at the same time.”
