Jeff Casey knows some people can be taken aback when learning the basic premise of the play "No Way to Treat a Lady."

"When you tell people that it's a musical about a serial killer, some people are put off by that immediately," said Casey, director of "No Way to Treat a Lady" at Hammond's Towle Community Theater. "It's not your typical musical theater fare, but it's really a lot of fun and has a lot of great humor."

Running through Sunday, "Lady" tells the story of Christopher "Kit" Gill, a failed actor who becomes a serial killer as a result of a comment made by his deceased mother, who found success on Broadway as a thespian. Mayhem ensues when he bonds with Morris Brummell, the detective investigating Gill's case, who also has issues with his mom.

The premise for "Lady" was penned by author and playwright William Goldman, who won Best Original Screenplay Oscars for "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" and "All the Presidents Men." The story was brought to the big screen in 1968, starring Rod Steiger and George Segal.

It was adapted as a musical by Douglas J. Cohen and made its Broadway debut in 1987.

"It really fits our profile," Casey said. "It's a show that hasn't been done in the area, which is something that we try to focus on, and it has a lot of entertainment value."

The roles of Gill and Brummell in Towle's production are performed by a pair of Windy City-based actors, John E.

Buranosky and Tom Farley, respectively. Kristen Estes, of Munster, plays Brummell's fiancée, Sarah Stone.

Hobart's Sherry VerWey tackles five roles in the play, performing as both Gill and Brummell's mothers and three of Gill's victims.

"For one actress to come in and play five characters in one show is a great opportunity," Casey said of VerWey. "I think that the audience enjoys seeing that range in someone, and she does such an amazing job. It's a great tour de force performance for her."

Next up on the Towle Community Theater's 2008 season is a production of the musical "The Fix," scheduled to open July 10.