Seven Keys

A Co-Production with Frosted Glass Creative

by Charles Fraser

Adapted from the play Seven Keys to Baldpate by George M. Cohan, based on the novel of the same name by Earl Derr Biggers

May 2 - May 19, 2024

A 1913 mysterious melodramatic farce is brought back to life as a fast-paced, quick-change, madcap caper.  William Magee must make it through one night alone in a summer resort during a winter storm. The inn is locked up for the season, and Magee has the only key.  Or, does he? Magee is visited by the corrupt politician, the crooked cop, the beautiful reporter, the greedy millionaire, the kooky widow, the nutty hermit, and the gang of dangerous criminals. Can Magee make it through the night without the hotel safe being robbed of the cash earmarked for the railroad deal?  Will he be able to resist the charms of the femme fatale? How many keys to the hotel can be accounted for? With seven keys and a cast of only three actors, see this heist careen off the rails with romance, intrigue, and murder.

Cast

  • Chris S Collier

  • Sarah Dickson

  • Charles Fraser

Creative Team

  • Charles Fraser

    Co-Director, Playwright

  • Peggy O'Connell

    Co-Director

  • Jaclyn Mack

    Costume Designer

  • Dana Anderson

    Sound Design

  • Michael Dufault

    Stage Manager

  • Norm Tiedermann

    Technical Director

  • Mason Tyre

    Violence and Intimacy Director

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Reviews

  • "I encourage theatregoers in search of a well-oiled, giddy, and winningly lighthearted time at the theatre, dispensed by a production that aims to lift us out of our dark shadows and be held aloft by the power of laughter, to dash up to Yellow Tree Theatre for Seven Keys."

    -Talkin’ Broadway

  • "I was especially impressed by Sarah Dickson for her greatly differentiated portrayals of four different characters [...] Dickson's chameleon-like performance and the clever costuming make the contrast between Mary and Myra particularly marvelous"

    -Talkin’ Broadway

  • “Collier plays the writer Magee with facile charm as he becomes ever more flustered by this onslaught of company, and confused by the elaborate web of connections among them.”

    -Talkin’ Broadway

  • "Fraser harvests the most laughs as Mrs. Rhodes [and] also delights as four other characters, each a different type."

    -Talkin’ Broadway

  • "Credit must go straightaway to costume designer Jaclyn Mack, who created colorful and complete costumes–not a mere change of hat or jacket–for each character."

    -Talkin’ Broadway

  • "Co-directed by Charles Fraser and Peggy O’Connell who completely understand the wink wink aspects of the script and how to stage the action to take full advantage of the tone so that the audience eating out of their hand."

    -Stages of MN

  • "Fraser and Dickson do what great character actors do, they create individual and distinct personas for each of the roles."

    -Stages of MN

  • "Seven Keys is one of those simply fun evenings out at the theater uproariously funny and seemingly effortlessly delightful. The performances alone would be enough to enthusiastically recommend Seven Keys that Fraser as written such a delightful adaptation makes it an all-around success."

    -Stages of MN