A mystery with smarts

Newport Theatre Arts Center producer David Colley knows that murder mysteries are historically crowd pleasers. They appeal to a wide audience and lend themselves to plot twists and second-guessing.

Still, for Colley to select a play from that genre, it first has to pass a litmus test.

“We struggle to find mysteries that work well,” Colley said. “The writing frankly isn’t that good for most of the shows.”

But when Colley and his colleagues on the center’s board of directors come across what they consider a smart mystery script, they pounce on the production.