Mike Craig steps off the stage to direct 'Let's Murder Marsha' with River City Players

Mike Craig admits his directorial debut, "Let's Murder Marsha," doesn't sound much like a comedy.

The story surrounds a woman named Marsha, who is convinced her husband, along with her mother and other characters, is plotting to kill her on her birthday. Marsha, who already has a wild imagination fueled by her love of murder mystery novels, decides to turn the tables on her supposed murderers in the first 2010 production by the River City Players.

Several faces familiar to the Players' stage are present under the direction of Craig, including Sara Corbin as Marsha, Joe Reed as her husband, Tobias, and Holly Raines as Lynette, Marsha's mother. Matthew Heisserer plays Virgil Baxter, Marsha's neighbor, who she reels in for defense against the murderers.

Lindsay Miller returns to the stage as Bianca, the maid who sees it all. Newcomer Kyle Hinton plays Ben Quade, a police officer, who is Bianca's date and also believed by Marsha to be in on the plot. Regina Arbuthnot, who has returned to the group after an absence of several years, has assumed the role of Persus Devore, Tobias' main co-conspirator but in reality an interior decorator.

Craig said his decision to direct, rather than act as he has in many previous productions, was actually more of a draft by the group's president Debbie Barnhouse.

"I was looking into it, and the next thing I know I'm directing a play," Craig said.

However, he said, he had given some thought to assistant directing this year, and thinks his work so far as a director has been a good learning experience.

As an actor in previous productions, Craig said he has been able to watch the directors and get an idea of what they do and how things look on the stage and how he would like to see things accomplished by the individual actors he chose to portray the characters in "Let's Murder Marsha."

"I'm finding out there's a lot more to it than just standing there at rehearsal times and saying go a little further to your left," Craig said.

Since he began in theater several years ago, Craig said his path from acting to directing has been a long, roundabout process. He started acting with the Starcatchers Community Theatre Troupe, a disbanded Jackson group. Before joining that group, Craig, originally from Jackson, said he had only done a small amount of acting in high school. Most of what he did then, and still does, is sing. He is involved with three area choral groups.

Craig said he saw an advertisement about six years ago for auditions with the River City Players.

"I thought, 'What the heck,' got a part and have been with them ever since," he said.

Craig's roles over the years have included many in the comedy sector, such as Sidney Bruhl in "Deathtrap," Shepherd Henderson in "Bell, Book and Candle" and most recently philosophy professor Harlan Brandstater in "When the Reaper Calls."

"Let's Murder Marsha" opens as a dinner theater at 6:30 p.m., dinner at 7 and show starting at 8 March 5 at the River City Yacht Club in Port Cape. The play will continue March 6, 12 and 13. A show-only performance will be at 7 p.m. March 11.

Tickets cost $30 for the dinner theater and $12 for show-only and can be reserved by calling 334-0954.