Review: ‘The Maltese Falcon’ at Laguna Playhouse

From left: Richard Baird and Louis Lotorto in "The Maltese Falcon" at Laguna Playhouse (Photo by Aaron Rumley)

Using more contorted similes and metaphors than an English professor teaching romantic poetry to hard-boiled detectives, “The Maltese Falcon” at Laguna Playhouse delivers chuckles with a side of noir.

A new commissioned play by Matthew Salazar-Thompson that recently premiered at North Coast Rep, “The Maltese Falcon” sends up Dashiell Hammett’s 1930 novel while remaining faithful to its story — perhaps a little too faithful, hence the play’s more than two-hour run time.

From left: Louis Lotorto, Daniel A. Stevens and Richard Baird in "The Maltese Falcon" at Laguna Playhouse (Photo by Aaron Rumley)

But as directed by Todd Nielsen, the five-member ensemble maintains its high-energy sparkle and tight choreography throughout, gliding around the shadows of Marty Burnett’s movable set with Matt Novotny’s lighting and Elisa Benzoni’s 1920s period costumes featuring a lot of trenchcoats.

And foley artist Liam Sullivan provides a plethora of sound effects on stage as the story unfolds — everything from doors opening and closing to the many drinks decanted into cut glasses to a bird cawing every time “Maltese falcon” is mentioned (much to the annoyance of the characters).

From left: Richard Baird and Regina Fernandez  in "The Maltese Falcon" at Laguna Playhouse (Photo by Aaron Rumley)

Sam Spade (Richard Baird) is a San Francisco private investigator whose ultra-competent secretary Effie (a perky Regina Fernandez) also narrates from the novel at times, occasionally holding up the actual dialogue (much to the annoyance of the other characters).

Soon, a sultry and mysterious Miss Wonderly (Shelley Regner) arrives to hire Spade, ostensibly for protection, but when Spade’s partner Archer is shot soon after, the plot steadily thickens to reveal she and other mysterious people are after an old Maltese falcon statue (its medieval backstory cleverly told with shadow puppets), supposedly studded with jewels beneath its black veneer.

From left: Shelley Regner and Richard Baird  in "The Maltese Falcon" at Laguna Playhouse (Photo by Aaron Rumley)

Baird as the square-jawed Spade and Regner as the mysterious woman, whose real name turns out to be Brigid O’Shaughnessy, embody their respective parts seamlessly. And Fernandez not only plays Effie and narrates but changes costume with lightning speed to show up as Archer’s black-clad widow, who had been having an affair with Spade.

As good as these three are, Louis Lotorto and Daniel A. Stevens take the cake for playing the rest of the roles. Besides sharing narration duties, Lotorto excels as multiple characters, including the creepy, whisper-voiced Cairo, channeling Peter Lorre as that character in the 1941 film. And Stevens seems to have fun playing the short-lived Archer, a police detective, an insane cab driver and rich villain Casper Gutman — whose quivering lips are mirthful in themselves.

From left: Regina Fernandez, Daniel A. Stevens, Richard Baird, Shelley Regner and Louis Lotorto  in "The Maltese Falcon" at Laguna Playhouse (Photo by Aaron Rumley)

Slapstick, murder, sensual romance, a slow-motion fight scene, plenty of witty dialogue and a final plot twist make “The Maltese Falcon” a must-see for fans of the book, film, or noir in general. Even if you don’t know the story, and though it’s longer than you’d think, you’ll enjoy seeing these five actors tell it with the bravado of a thief in the night stealing the stuff dreams are made of.

“The Maltese Falcon” continues through May 3 at the Laguna Playhouse, 606 Laguna Canyon Rd., Laguna Beach, with shows Wednesdays and Fridays at 7:30 p.m., Thursdays and Saturdays at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., and Sundays at 1 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. For tickets, call the box office at 949-497-2787 or visit LagunaPlayhouse.com. Run time is 2 hours and 30 minutes, including intermission.