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Last Chance! Must Close June 8
A Mystery That’s Short on Spooky
SMOKEY JOE’S CAFÉ THE SONGS OF LEIBER AND STOLLER
KENZO TRIBOUILLARD (GETTY IMAGES)
Stephen King shows he’s not just a horror writer in ‘Mr. Mercedes’ Book Review The dedication page of Stephen King’s latest novel calls out to noir author James M. Cain, hinting at the nature of the story to come. “Mr. Mercedes” ($30, Scribner) is rooted, firmly and affectionately, in the classic noir tradition and contains none of the supernatural phenomena so prevalent in King’s body of work. The result is a tightly plotted crime novel that retains that essential, instantly recognizable flavor that has distinguished King’s fiction for more than 40 years. The story begins with a prologue set in an unnamed Midwestern city in the spring of 2009. A crowd of desperate job seekers has lined up outside the building where a massive job fair is scheduled. Matters take a horrific turn when a Mercedes sedan emerges from the fog, plowing deliberately into the crowd, killing eight people. Jumping ahead several months, King introduces his hero, Bill Hodges, a recently retired homicide detective who failed to close the case of the Mercedes Killer. He is adrift in a state of pre-suicidal despair when a letter, apparently written by the killer, arrives. Filled with lies and largely misleading clues, the letter spurs him toward an unofficial investigation. Having met the detective, we meet the murderer. Brady Harts-
words and music by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller directed by Randy Johnson | choreographed by Parker Esse
“MAGNIFICENT.”
“Mr. Mercedes” is a straightforward murder mystery from Stephen King.
field has developed a passion for the primal satisfactions of murder, a passion t hat can only escalate. The bulk of the narrative moves smoothly back and forth between a killer planning a major atrocity and the retired detective determined to stop him. Hartsfield moves toward his private apocalypse in a state of steadily increasing isolation, while Hodges, invested with a renewed sense of purpose, makes his way back into the human community. On one level, “Mr. Mercedes,” out today, is an expertly crafted example of the classic race-against-theclock thriller. On another, it is a novel of depth and character enriched throughout by the grace notes King provides in such seemingly effortless profusion. It is a rich, resonant accomplishment by a man who can write in whatever genre he chooses. BILL SHEEHAN (THE WASHINGTON POST)
Government Scandal? There’s an Oliver Stone Movie for That. Oliver Stone will direct an adaptation of “The Snowden Files,” The Guardian reports. In a statement, Stone called Guardian journalist Luke Harding’s book “one of the greatest stories of our time.” “The Snowden Files” is an account of Edward Snowden’s discovery and leak of the mass surveillance carried out by the National Security Administration. (E XPRESS)
— The Washington Post
“” — DC Metro Theater Arts
“INFECTIOUS MIX OF HITS.” — Washingtonian
“GLORIOUS…A KNOCKOUT CAST.” — Talkin’ Broadway
Photos of Jay Adriel, E. Faye Butler, Austin Colby, Ashley Bair Fitzgerald, Levi Kreis, Michael J. Mainwaring, Nova Y. Payton, Stephawn Stephens and Kara-Tameika Watkinsby Teresa Wood.
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