THEATRE PREVIEW

OCTOBER 2025 | Volume 256

 

What do you get when you cross a lounge singer called Buddy Toupee, a private investigator named Sam Galahad, a half dozen blondes, and a murder??? Before you answer, add a smoky lounge on the airport strip called the Red Eye Lounge, a mysterious mansion on a hill, the mob, and a police detective that wants Sam, our private dick, to "leave it alone." See if you can figure it out. Ooooh, and do not forget to make it a musical.

The answer to all these questions is a "noir musical mystery" called Gunmetal Blues, written by Scott Wentworth (Book), Craig Bohmler and Marion Adler (Music and Lyrics), and it is running November 13 – 30 at First Impressions Theatre on the waterfront in Deep Cove. Gunmetal Blues, directed by Artistic Director Claude Giroux, and featuring a large cast of three (more on that later), feels like a musical Raymond Chandler novel, dialing up the feel of noir, its campy dialogue and hardnosed characters, while at the same time going full satire in a mashup that is both nostalgic and new, and exceedingly fun.

Gunmetal Blues is a 1989 musical that blends a hard-boiled detective story with a lounge act, set in a smoky, dimly lit bar where a piano player, Buddy Toupee, leads the audience on a journey of mystery and murder. The plot follows private eye Sam Galahad as he searches for a missing blonde, encountering femme fatales and crooked cops in a world of shadows and music. The show is known for its snappy dialogue, moody 1940s film noir-inspired plot, improvisational Jazz/Blues music, and multi character performances by a small cast of three.

Direct from the Red Eye Lounge, Buddy Toupee tickles the ivories in a double-dealing world of rain-slicked streets and demolished dreams. This jazzy hit musical features long-time First Impressions collaborator Gordon Roberts, returning vocal powerhouse Nick Hefflefinger and introducing the sultry vocal and multi character talents of Amelia Trotter.

Gunmetal Blues is a whodunit wrapped in a lounge act, a nod to the noir films of Bogart and the like. Buddy Toupee sits at the piano, introduces the show and provides narration, accompaniment (musical and otherwise) throughout, and is at times a conscience for private investigator Sam Galahad. Roberts is an extremely talented piano player, an expert singer, and a fantastic guide for the audience to follow along with. It is a jazzy score that is not overly complex but solid, with songs that are at times tongue-in-cheek and at others melancholy.

There is a shroud of stark loneliness to this genre and Gunmetal Blues captures that very well. A song like "Childhood Days" is the perfect example of this, sung by Buddy as well as Sam and Laura, one of the plethora of blondes played by Trotter. This song is the one moment of levity in an otherwise satirical and comically stereotypical story and shines a light on the solitary lives of the lounge singer, the private eye, and the femme fatale. It is also a showcase for the vocal and acting talents of this triumvirate which is nothing to scoff at.

Gunmetal Blues is a mystery wrapped in a comedy tucked into a musical. There is something for everyone here, and between the music, mystery, and nostalgia, Gunmetal Blues is a thoroughly enjoyable production, presented with the high level of quality, energy and panache that First Impressions Theatre is known and respected for.

 

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