Red Herring

Yet another storm bears down, leaving us hunkered down in the studio. Around this time last year, I was sketching up a storm for Portland Stage’s production of Red Herring by Michael Hollinger.  A fable about marriage in a pulp noir package, the script is loaded with detectives, dames, and a dead spy.

My sketches are super rough, because I had about 8 weeks to do 7 posters, but you get the idea. Act one, scene 1 calls for a billboard of Winslow Homer’s painting, The Herring, to glow above the stage. Tried that in my first idea.

Fishing themes and variations thereof…

It’s also a murder mystery.

How about two lovers in a herring tin?

Or just a dame with a gun on the docks of Boston Harbor?

Lovers packed in with kippers…

The herring tin got the nod! Here’s the final pastel, drawn on reddish sand paper.

A huge shout out to Marty Braun for his magic with type treatment here!

I brought a gang of kin to see the show this past Saturday night.

And there it was, that billboard!

With 14 scene changes in Act One, and another 10 in Act Two, it’s truly a nimble screwball comedy, with smooth performances by Dustin Tucker and Robyn Payne. Kudos to the stage crew whose choreography and costumes added a salty flair to the set changes. Many actors play multiple roles and the whole thing kept us guessing.

If you’re a fan of noir films, satire, fifties fashion, or just Dustin, go see this show!