Professional theater of the Great Western Catskills!

Murder in a Nutshell

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Murder in a Nutshell

Murder in a Nutshell
A Staged Reading
Written by Oliver Wadsworth
Directed by Kirk Jackson


Frances Glessner Lee was an American heiress to the International Harvester tractor fortune, and an aspiring forensic scientist. Barred from attending Harvard in 1944, this abrupt, eccentric and utterly original American woman created a way to teach the subject of crime investigation in an utterly unique way. This is the story of her creation of the Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death— a collection of 20 true crime scene dioramas that are still being used to this day to teach Police Officers and Investigators about what to look for when investigating a suspicious death, and which are now considered works of art. This staged reading Oliver Wadsworth’s original new play charts her journey to becoming the “Godmother of American forensics,” and the young man she pressed into service to help build her mini masterpieces. 

TYLER BELLE-ROBINSON (Lyle Homer)

PATRICIA BUCKLEY (Frances Glessner Lee) is the Artistic Director of FSC. Her New York credits include New York Theatre Workshop, Cherry Lane, 59e59, Potomac Theatre Project, New Ohio Theater, Irish Arts Center, MileSquare Theatre, Clubbed Thumb, and the Actors Shakespeare Company. Regionally, she has performed with Theatre de la Jeune Lune and at Papermill Playhouse, LaJolla Playhouse, Berkshire Theatre Festival, Cleveland Playhouse, Walnut Street Theatre, Portland Stage Company (ME), Coconut Grove Playhouse, Aspen Comedy Festival and Portland Center Stage (OR). International credits include Gams On The Lam touring throughout the US, Canada, Mexico and Europe. Film and television appearances include Red Oaks (Amazon), Law & Order (NBC), Death of A President (Film 4/Channel 4), Kabluey (Sony), The Delicious (Fox Searchlight), Anna Is Being Stalked (Sundance Channel) and How2MakeMovies@Home (Independent).

SCOTT HOLDREDGE (Scenic Design) is a full time faculty member at SUNY Cortland in NY. He recently designed Lights for Opera Ithaca at the Hangar Theatre for A Turn of the Screw and designed Set/Lights/projection for the Opera Ithaca festival including Rusalka and Die Schoien Mullerin.  His scenic designs for SUNY Cortland have recently included; Sweet Charity, Love Billy, Cabaret, The Last Five Years (co-production with Cortland Repertory Theatre), Seussical, and a new musical workshop production of The Bone Harp with Create Theatre. He has also worked for Cortland Repertory Theatre, Syracuse Opera, Syracuse University, and a few area high school theatres as a set/lighting designer and technical director. Scott’s work has been seen in New York City, Los Angeles, Alaska, and San Diego across the genres of theatre, corporate events, theme parks, haunted houses and film.

OSKAR ISAKSSON STAHLER (Stage Directions) is  an aspiring actor and voiceover artist currently attending SUNY Oneonta as a theatre major. Oskar grew up near Franklin and his first exposure to theatre was attending a show at Franklin Stage as a child. Having the opportunity to help out over the summer is both a little surreal and a bit of a full circle moment! He is thrilled to be a part of the crew for the summer productions, both as a learning experience and to support local arts!

KIRK JACKSON (Director) is happy to be back at Franklin Stage where he directed A Doll’s House: Part 2, A Walk in the Woods and Tartuffe. He developed the one-man show The Tarnation of Russell Colvin with husband Oliver Wadsworth at FSC, which went on to tour venues throughout southern Vermont, including the Dorset Theater Festival, and Hubbard Hall in Cambridge, NY. For Hubbard Hall Kirk recently directed What the Constitution Means to Me, as well as Fun Home, The Book Club Play, Stupid F*#king Bird, and the opera’s Rigoletto, Gianni Schicchi, and Pizza con Fungi. For Living Room Theater, in North Bennington, VT, he directedConstellations, A Doll’s House: Part 2, and appeared in The Three Sisters set in Northern Ireland, and Lucy’s Wedding. Faculty: Bennington College since 2001. MFA: Yale School of Drama.

ALYSSA PERILLO (Stage Manager) studied Film and Media Arts at Temple University. She is currently the Assistant Director of Cue and Curtain Drama Club at Unatego Central School. Alyssa is very excited to return to FSC this summer after an internship in 2023. She would like to thank her mom and her mentor, Sandra Bonczkowski, for their endless support.

OLIVER WADSWORTH (Playwright) is thrilled to be back at Franklin Stage. He has worked extensively throughout the country. He was in the first National tour of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.  OFF BROADWAY: Sideways (Pecadillo Theatre), Endpapers (Variety Arts); Well (The Public Theater); Bread and Roses (New York Theatre Workshop). REGIONAL credits; A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Red Maple (BroadwayWorld Berkshires Best Actor Award), Fully Committed (Metroland Best Performance), The Taming of the Shrew, and Take Me Out (Capital Rep); Fall River (Penguin Rep); Peter and the Starcatcher (Pioneer Theatre);  Mystery of Irma Vep (Arizona Theatre Company); Misalliance (Old Globe and Seattle Repertory);  An Enemy of the People (Long Wharf Theatre); Santaland Diaries, Dracula and Christmas Carol (Actors Theatre of Louisville);  Santaland Diaries, Velocity of Autumn and A Nantucket Christmas Carol (White Heron Theatre); Peter Pan (Denver Center Theatre); A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Syracuse Stage); Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Fulton Theater); Shipwrecked (AriZoni Award, Actors Theatre of Phoenix); Sherlock Holmes and the Jersey LilyNoises Off and Murder on the Nile (Dorset Theatre Festival);  Stones In His Pockets (Metroland Best Performance, Adirondack Theatre Festival).  TV & FILM:  “Deliver Us from Evil”, “Ed’s Next Move”, “Dotty Gets Spanked”, “Blacklist”, and “Law and Order SVU”.  MFA NYU Graduate Acting Program.  Upcoming: A Sherlock Carol and The Lehman Trilogy at Cap Rep.

SHOWTIMES

Saturday, September 21 @3:00 pm
Sunday, September 22 @3:00 pm

FREE ADMISSION

Franklin Stage Company is an admission-free theater that depends on the generosity of our audience and donors. The suggested donation is $25/seat, but whatever donation you can afford, you are welcome here.