Ottawa Little Theatre's 'Appearing This Evening…' runs until August 1 at Bank Street venue

Ottawa Little Theatre is staging an original backstage comedy-mystery that doubles as a love letter to community theatre itself. "Appearing This Evening…" runs until August 1, directed by Karen Wood and written by long-time local actor Anthony Keenleyside.

The play opens moments before curtain at a local theatre company's production of "Henry VIII, Wives VI." The lead actor hasn't shown up. The theatre president is pressed into service as an understudy who's never read the script. A police constable and inspector arrive asking questions about the missing actor. Chaos and mystery unfold as the company races to make the show happen.

With zany characters, witty humour, and physical gags in the first act, the play descends into a "whodunit?" by the second act. Each cast member brings distinctive comic energy. Felipe Moura as Henry Sevensson delivers heart and wisecracks as the suddenly-drafted understudy struggling with script pages and a too-tight costume. Dianna Renée Yorke as director Katherine O'Faragon holds a stern yet compassionate presence, her patience visibly wearing thin. Garret Lee's Constable Edmunds emerges as a comedic standout, his happy-go-lucky attitude and habit of over-explaining providing moments of genuine surprise.

The production uses the stage creatively, with a small costume fitting room, organized prop shelf, and lit marquee. Technical gags courtesy of the offstage stage manager Howard Brandon (performed by Gordon Walls through the speakers) add layers — wrong sound cues, curtain mishaps.

If you've been involved in theatre, the casting-together-in-crisis will resonate. If you haven't, you're in for a treat watching how the show manages to go on anyway.