Do you love mysteries? Do you want to see a U.S. Premiere? Lakewood has you covered, with "The Maltese Falcon." This just might be the best production I have seen at Lakewood. Yes, I'm a superfan of the novel and film, so I'll freely admit to a bias. But, I'm sure I'm not alone in that. I mean, director David Sikking named his son Dashiell, so I'm willing to bet he's in that group, too. In fact, the smallest facet of the production has "passion-project" written all over it, down to the pre-show score, which sets the mood instantly. The whole show has fabulous small touches like that, such as the rolling San Francisco fog.
It's all just simply brilliant. Even the fact of Lakewood being the site of the U.S. Premiere, has me swelling with local pride. Director David Sikking was my Sophomore English teacher, and I credit him for introducing me to noir pulp fiction, though in my case, it was Hammett's contemporary, Raymond Chandler. As you might imagine, this made seeing "The Maltese Falcon quite special, and "appointment-viewing." I suggest that it should be "appointment-viewing" for you, as well.
