Driftwood Players open 57th season with Seven Keys to Baldpate

Photo by Dale Sutton of Magic Photo

Part mystery and part comedy, Seven Keys to Baldpate is the first production in Edmonds Driftwood Players’ 57th Season, running September 11-27, 2015.

Written by one of America’s most honored entertainers, George M. Cohan, Seven Keys to Baldpate is a medley of mystery, farce and intrigue and an especially fine example of the American mystery play. 

The story is about writer Billy Magee who accepts an outrageous bet … 24 hours to complete a novel. With his typewriter and the only key to the remote Baldpate Inn, he is ready for the challenge. 

When unexpected visitors with six more keys to Baldpate interrupt his work, it’s a mystery if he will finish on time!

Directed by Gianni Truzzi, who says about the play “it’s a thriller that pokes fun at thrillers. On a ‘dark and stormy night’ a writer seeking peace in an empty hotel is plagued by characters that could have come from his own pulp novels as a mystery unfolds.”

Driftwood’s production will have the audience laughing and perched on the edge of their seats.

Truzzi goes on to describe working on this particular show with his cast, “These characters are all simple story archetypes: Our Hero, The Good Girl, The Bad Girl, The Thug, and so on. That's great fun to send up. But working with this brave and adventurous cast, we've learned that even the most transparent characters have their secrets. We expect our audience to have as rich and fun an experience watching the play as we have had creating it.”

Playing the role of the writer, Billy Magee, is actor and real-life novelist, Boyd Morrison, who comments that “it’s fun to be playing my own profession for once.”

George M. Cohan was an American entertainer, playwright, composer, lyricist, actor, singer, dancer and producer. Cohan began his career as a child, performing with his parents and sister in a vaudeville act known as "The Four Cohans." He wrote, composed, produced, and appeared in more than three dozen Broadway musicals. Cohan published more than 300 songs during his lifetime, including the standards "Over There", "Give My Regards to Broadway", "The Yankee Doodle Boy" and "You're a Grand Old Flag". Cohan displayed remarkable theatrical longevity, appearing in films until the 1930s, and continuing to perform as a headline artist until 1940. Known as "the man who owned Broadway,” he was considered the father of American musical comedy.

Performances: September 11-27, 2015

Thurs-Sat at 8:00pm, Sunday at 2:00pm 

There is a complimentary wine and cheese reception after the September 11th opening night performance.

Performances are at the Wade James Theatre, 950 Main St Edmonds, WA 

General Tickets are $25.00 with senior, youth and military discounts available.

Book tickets online, by phone at 425-774-9600 or in person at 306 Main Street, Edmonds.