Festival Antigonish Summer Theatre’s Artistic Director Ed Thomason is excited for Friday night’s opening night of the musical comedy No Way To Treat A Lady. "Every year the opening of the first play in the season is special, but this year there’s the added excitement of the 20th anniversary!" says Thomason. "I can’t think of a better way to kick-start the season than with No Way To Treat A Lady, by Douglas J. Cohen."

Disguising yourself as a kindly Irish priest or a slinky Latin dancer to gain entry into a middle aged woman's life and then killing her is indeed no way to treat a lady. Yet that's exactly what the mother-fixated, unemployed actor Christopher "Kit" Gill (Marty Burt) does in order to get the attention that has eluded him.

Kit is pursued by Morris (Carson Nattrass), an endearing detective who must balance his ongoing investigation not just with the unexpected blossoming of his love life but with the demands of his meddling mother.

Based on the best-selling novel by William Goldman, which also became a hit movie, this entertaining show is a devilish blend of dark humour, romance and suspense.

Directing the musical is Nova Scotia’s Cliff LeJeune, who returns to Festival Antigonish for the first time since 1995 and is delighted to return. “There’s such a great feeling of ‘company’ here. It really is a beautiful and well-oiled machine,” he says.