The word, "keys" has a double meaning in the latest production of the Joplin Little Theatre. First, as part of the title of the play, it is a key that opens the door to an inn secluded in the mountains (an actual location in Warren County, New Jersey) where a playwright accepts a challenge to produce a script within a 24-hour time frame as part of a bet with the inn's owner. The playwright thinks he's the only one having a key but not too long elapses before he and the audience are shown that not to be true. What all these seemingly key holders represent is the key to the plot.

Seven Keys to Baldpate is songwriter/performer George M. Cohan's play that opened on Broadway in New York at the Astor Theatre in 1913 and ran for 320 performances. It obviously is a period piece and JLT director Jim Lile has added some modern elements without sacrificing what Cohan had intended. In the one scene setting , the office of the inn created by Sam Hydar, several doorways allow the large cast of characters to move about without the need for a multi-level stage. Kudos also to the selection of period costumes by Laraa Hicks-Burrow, especially those worn by the "Keystone" cops, who appear towards the end of the play.

Included in the group of unsavory characters are Mayor Jim Cargan ((Neal Ruggeberg) seated at left. He is confronted by his henchman/guy Friday Lou Max (Tony Flint) who tells him he's sick of his involvement in the mayor's dirty work. John Bland, a railroad tycoon's right hand man (Paul Noller) completes the scene.

The cast, a wide assortment of very old-fashioned stock characters, does an amazing job of convincing the modern viewer of their significance. They include a somewhat bland reporter and love interest (Elizabeth Booth), the reporter's chaperon (Kendra Goepfert), a burly right hand man to the tycoon (Paul Noller), the shady mayor ((Neal Ruggeberg), the mayor's henchman (Tony Flint's Runyonesque characterization), a railroad tycoon needing a favor (Brad Stefanoni), a deceptive young woman (Sherry Noller), the unethical chief of police Jiggs Kennedy (Steve LeMaster) and the owner of Baldpate (Michelle Jamison).

While we are introduced to this large group of conniving characters, it is the custodians of the inn, the Quimbys, portrayed by husband and wife team, Wally and Leecia Bloss, that help keep the play's intent in prospective. At the play's opening based on instructions from the owner we see that they have prepared the inn for a writer's arrival (William Magee played by Todd Manley) and in the epilogue they fulfill their other prime role: accepting the manuscript that he has written.

With a large gust of wind and gusto a haunting hermit portrayed by Skylar Walton appears on stage to interact with the other characters.

A sudden appearance on stage by a misogynistic crusty old hermit named Peters (remember Skylar Walton for an Encore Award) changes the pace of the play. He literally leaps on the scene with an athleticism and comedic performance that is top-notch.

A majority of the actors are new to the Joplin Little Theatre stage, a refreshing sign for this community celebrating its 75th year in continuous operation.

Most of us didn't come to the Joplin Little Theatre with a theatre background, Walton, actor and also the new office manager, said. He complimented the openness of casting that allows newcomers to compete for parts that in the past and for a long time seemed to have gone to JLT regulars.

Seven Keys to Baldpate runs from February 3-7, 2016. Curtain is nightly at 7:30 p.m. with a matinee on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. Tickets are $13 for adults, $11 for seniors and $5 for children. The box office may be reached by phoning (417) 623-3638. The Joplin Little Theatre is located at 3009 W. 1st St. (west of Schifferdecker), Joplin.

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