Hitchcock parody ‘Wrong Window!’ brings laughs to PowPAC

Alfred Hitchcock fans will likely get a kick trying to identify the many references to his various movies if they attend PowPAC’s latest offering.

“Wrong Window!” puts a comical spin on Hitchcock’s mystery thriller “Rear Window.” The 1954 movie had a wheelchair-bound man watching his neighbors from his apartment, an activity that leads him to suspect one of his neighbors was murdered by her husband.

In PowPAC’s well-acted stage production, high jinks ensue when two couples — Marnie and Jeff Elbies (Holly Stephenson and Steve Murdock) plus Midge and Robbie Smith (Kay Marian McNellen and Tony Bejarano) — suspect their neighbor, Thor Larswald (Kevin Bray) of killing his wife, Lila (Cecily Keppel), when they overhear them arguing, they see incriminating shadows on the Larswalds’ window shade and Lila disappears.

As the audience quickly comes to realize, not all is as it seems since one of the witnesses has a good reason to have killed Lila himself.

The eight cast members do a wonderful job in keeping the fast pace filled with physical comedy. They do not let the comedic situations get too campy or break character by giving into laughter — a difficult thing considering some of the antics on stage.

While all did a good job, including supporting characters handyman Loomis (Joe Solazzo) and Det. Doyle Thomas (Richard Rivera), the biggest praise goes to Keppel for her ability to be “lifeless” once her body was discovered. She remained limp, never giggled or gave any sign of life despite the way she was moved about by Jeff and Robbie or what was done to her. A certain couch scene was especially funny and she was a very convincing corpse.

Director Rob Conway and the PowPAC set construction team led by Raylene J. Wall did a good job in presenting the two apartments that required multiple scene changes. For those not familiar with PowPAC’s stage, pulling the changes off is tricky since there is no curtain and the stage’s small size surely creates challenges. But the volunteer team pulled it off once again, with creative staging and an impeccable attention to detail — even for things just glimpsed through a doorway but not part of the main stage area.

As for those references to Hitchcock’s movies, some are obvious, like the multitude of birds not only seen on stage and referenced in the script, but used to decorate the PowPAC lobby. Others are more obscure. Here and there Hitchcock’s movies are referenced in the dialogue and the suspected killer’s name is a twist on the original. In the movie, it is Lars Thorwald. In this play, it is Thor Larswald.

While funny and fast-moving, due to some of the lines, situations and heavy reliance on knowledge of Hitchcock movie to fully appreciate all its nuances, the play is best suited for adults.

“Wrong Window!” can be seen at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, and 2 p.m. Sundays through Feb. 8 at PowPAC, Poway’s Community Theatre, 13250 Poway Road. For those who want to avoid the stairs, park behind the theater to access the elevator.

Tickets are $20 for general admission and $17 for seniors, students and active duty military. Purchase online at www.powpac.org. For questions, contact the box office at 858-679-8085 or boxoffice@powpac.org.