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Art Beat

Murder, They Hoped

By Sarah Phelan

Get the week off to a bang down at Bocci's Cellar on Sunday nights, where everybody's doing it in Murder at the Howard Johnson's. This naughty-but-nice piece of dinner theater follows the furtive attempts of three middle-aged lovers to knock each other off in the name of love, family values and self-realization.

Holed up in the same hotel suite on three separate occasions, the mixed-up principals in this middle-class love triangle get their just desserts as they skillfully swap positions and partners in a two-act comedy.

At the center of the action stands sexpot Arlene (Linda Gunther), dressed to kill in her shiny black stilettos and bun-hugging skirt. Behind her stands the other man, the cocksure Dr. Mitchell Lavell (Kai Slawinkski), a lecherous womanizer of a dentist whose motto is "no lipstick, no personal checks, puhleez!" He has adventure in his closets and is always ready to fill more than just her dental cavities.

And then there's Schmucko, a.k.a. Paul, Arlene's devoted but dull car-dealer of a husband (Ric Botelho). Poor baby, his entire wardrobe is gray, and he's about to get the worst deal of his life. This is wickedly delicious, easily digestible fun.

Elf Empire Productions and Bocci's Cellar present Murder at the Howard Johnson's Sunday (5pm) through Feb. 18 at Bocci's Cellar, 140 Encinal St., SC. Tickets ($30) for the show include dinner. Seating is limited, so reservations (427-1795) are advised.

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