`Exit The Body,' Enter The Laughs

"Exit the Body," Redwood Theater, 8703 160th Ave. Tonight through Feb. 29, evening performances at 8 p.m.; Sunday matinees at 2 p.m. Tickets $7 for adults, $4 for students and seniors. 869-7639. ................................................................ -- REDMOND There are stolen jewels and bodies, suspicious-looking characters and an investigator in search of the truth, all together in a New England house. At night. In the dark.

Sounds like a mystery - except the detective doesn't remember who he is throughout most of the play, the bodies keep walking away, and there's more slapstick than spine-tingling suspense.

Sounds like a comedy.

"Exit the Body," by Fred Carmichael, is a farce that pokes fun at the conventions of serious mysteries. It is the second in a series of mysteries by the Redwood Theater, a community group that moved from Bothell two years ago. " `Exit the Body' is a funny, Keystone cop kind of play," said director Sue Bukovinsky, who's directed four productions for Redwood. "I'm working to keep the show light, fast, and a lot of fun."

The plot revolves around a successful mystery writer, Crane Hammond, who learns that diamonds are hidden somewhere inside the New England house she's rented. When she begins to hunt for the gems and is joined by four couples, all unaware of each other, a hilarious series of entrances, exits and bumps in the night - and bodies hanging in closets - follows.

The bodies don't stick around long, though, which is more than a little unnerving for Hammond, who is easily flustered. She faints every time she sees one, said Vivi King, who plays Hammond.

As a flustered Hammond, King doesn't receive much help from private investigator Phillip Smith, who loses his memory early in the play and winds up in a closet. He's a nice guy who's befuddled most of the time, said Scott Brakeman, who plays the part.

All of the characters in the play are larger than life, but Kate Bixley, Hammond's sarcastic secretary, is the biggest, said Jolie Berrier, who portrays her. She has the greatest lines, said Berrier. She's "one of those people that has to rub you the wrong way."

Like several of her fellow actors in "Exit the Body," Berrier is not new to community theater. She performed in many shows, most of them musicals, when she lived in San Francisco. The chance to entertain keeps her coming back, Berrier said: "Standing up on that stage and making someone smile, that's the payoff."

Like many she has met in community productions, Berrier feels this kind of theater offers a chance for people to fulfill a dream of acting without giving up the security of a more reliable profession.

But Steve Hudy, who plays Vernon Cookley, the town sheriff, hopes acting may someday become his profession. Since last January, when he landed his first small part in a feature film, Hudy, who is a construction estimator, has been pursuing a long-held dream of an acting career. "This (new direction) has allowed the little boy in me to come to life," said Hudy.

Like Hudy, Redwood Theater is also moving in new directions, by moving away from mystery, a tradition with the theatrical group. The theater now wants to produce plays "that will be more challenging to actors, to directors and audiences as well," said Greg Wright, producer of "Exit the Body" and a member of the theater's board of directors.