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Cell 13' - tale of an unhokey pokey

By John Quinn

Patrick O'Lear as Fielding, John Arden McClure as Professor S.F.X. Van Dusen and Donald Couture as Warden Ransome in "The Problem of Cell 13." Photo: Broadway Onstage

Literature is full of egotistical smarty pants amateurs who can solve mysteries on brain power alone. Best known are Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes and Edgar Allen Poe's C. Auguste Dupin, who cleared up the mystery of the murders in the Rue Morgue. Less well known is Professor Augustus S. F. X. Van Dusen, the "Thinking Machine," brainchild of American writer Jacques Futrelle. That's a pity, since Futrelle is as interesting a character as his literary creation. His career was cut short at 37 when he went down with the Titanic. Futrelle was one of the heroes who refused a seat on the lifeboats in the gentlemanly tradition of "women and children first."
Broadway Onstage in Eastpointe is mounting an original adaptation of one of Futrelle's most gripping stories, "The Problem of Cell 13." When Charles Ransome (Donald Couture), warden of Chisholm Prison, debunks the professor's claim that nothing is impossible through the power of the mind, our petulant hero bets he can break out of the prison's Death Row in a week. He succeeds. It wouldn't be much of a story if he didn't, right? In this instance, getting there is MORE than half the fun!
John Arden McClure was inspired to bring Futrelle to the stage and gets the opportunity to play his own hero, Van Dusen. Under the capable direction of company founder Dennis Wickline, this combination actually works. McClure's love for the character shines through in his performance. The script is light, but full of lengthy descriptive monologues and dialogues that tests the memory of both actor and audience. It's a credit to both Futrelle and McClure that we are left to wonder until the very end how the escape was accomplished.
The story has been spiced up a bit by changing the gender of the reporter, Hatch, thus adding a possible love interest for the cold, calculating Van Dusen. As Anne Hatch, Sarah Lynne Oravetz brings additional motivations to the character, pleasantly changing the dynamics of the plot.
A message to all you brainiacs out there who insist on doing the Sunday crossword in ink: I'm guessing Professor Van Dusen finished 'way ahead of you!

REVIEW:
'The Problem of Cell 13'
Broadway Onstage Live Theatre, 21517 Kelly Rd., Eastpointe. Friday-Saturday through Feb. 5. $16. 586-771-6333. http://www.broadwayonstage.com

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