For 15 years Gary Payne has been Austin’s primary purveyor of the theatrical form known as murder mystery dinner theatre. Since 1991, his Capital City Mystery Players have done dozens upon dozens of shows for private parties and corporations, as well as public venues, such as the Austin Marriott, the Driskill Hotel, and the Spaghetti Warehouse. But while Payne might be primarily associated with this nontraditional form of theatre, this month finds him in a more traditional vehicle (although still a mystery): the Paradox Players’ production of Anthony Shaffer’s Sleuth.
As with so many individuals who make theatre their vocation, Payne began acting in high school. He continued to act while getting a business degree at UT-Arlington. “I considered being a theatre major,” says Payne, “but the practical side of me said, no, you better get something you can use. But I was almost like one of the theatre majors. I hung out with them a lot and did four or five shows with them. We got together a few years ago and, oddly enough, those that majored in theatre are now doing something else, and I am the only one still involved in theatre.”
“Heavily involved” might be a better way to put it. Theatre is both Payne’s vocation, as he makes his living producing CCMP shows, and his avocation, as he volunteers in the evenings to help out the Players. Says Payne, “The folks at First Unitarian Universalist Church of Austin – they always say, ‘Give ’em the whole name! Give ’em the whole name!’ – started Paradox a number of years ago and asked me to get involved, and back then I didn’t have the time. But last summer I directed a show for them and saw that they had a really effective support group. I directed their first show this year, Bus Stop, and now I’m performing in this one, and we’ve had a pretty successful year. We’ve doubled our audience from last year, and we usually sell out our performances.”
Payne’s relationship with CCMP echoes Anthony Shaffer’s with his biggest success, Sleuth. The twin brother of Peter Shaffer, author of Equus and Amadeus, Anthony had to endure some ridicule when Sleuth was first produced. Sir Laurence Olivier, who would play the leading role in the film version, called Sleuth “a piece of piss,” and the play was often dismissed as “just entertainment” – all this despite it winning the Tony Award for Best Play in 1971. Payne has had to endure similar vicissitudes for producing his dinner-theatre mysteries, which many – including Payne himself on occasion – dismiss as not being “real theatre.” But whether they’re “real” or not, Payne is laughing all the way to the bank, and he’ll most likely help the Players do the same with Sleuth. “I think it’s the greatest thriller ever written for the stage,” says Payne. “As far as I’m concerned, it was the original of the modern genre of thrillers. It’s very funny, and its twists and turns are unique and very original. I saw the film before I read the play, and I was completely fooled.”
So was I. And if you haven’t seen it, you’d be foolish to miss it.
Sleuth runs Sept. 22-Oct. 8, Friday-Saturday, 8pm, Sunday, 3pm, in Howson Hall at the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Austin, 4700 Grover. For more information, call 744-1495, or visit www.paradoxplayers.org.
This article appears in September 22 • 2006.