Ready to sit at the edge of your seat, clutching your playbill as if it will protect you, holding your breathe so you don’t scream, ill prepared for the identity of who will be murdered, and, worse yet, uncertain of who the murderer is. Never fear. If all of the above is true, you are clearly at the Sharon Playhouse watching a performance of the longest running mystery in London’s West End “The Mousetrap,” until Sunday, October 5.
Penned by Agatha Christie, premiering in 1952, marking its 30,000 performances in London in March of this year, the world’s most famous murder mystery starts innocently enough in a snowbound English country guesthouse where newlyweds are entertaining company, Mollie and Giles Ralston (Dana Domenick and Reid Sinclair). Ms. Christie predicted the play would run eight months. It is based on a true story and began life as a radio show, “Three Blind Mice,” and was written for Queen Mary’s birthday. The Guardian has stated “the play and the author are its stars.”
The director Hunter Foster clearly enjoys the cat and mouse game unfolding in this thriller on stage, as the audience gets scared and surprised together. It’s a communal experience to feel like your life is in danger. It is a dark and snowy night in 1947 and the residents of the Monkswell Guest House find themselves trapped by the storm. These strangers, or are they, soon find there may be a murderer in their midst as a woman has been strangled hereby and a Detective Sergeant Trotter (Christopher MClinden) has arrived on skis to warn the guests of imminent danger. The inn’s owners are novices as neither have ever ventured into the bed and breakfast business before.
Plunging through their doors are snow beset travelers Christopher Wren (Will Nash Broyles) a young man who loves exploring and cooking, Mrs. Boyle (Sandy York) who takes criticism to a high art form, Major Metcalf (Dick Terhune) who observes everything as he solemnly smokes his pipe, Miss Casewell (Caroline Kinsolving) who loves to act out with dramatic effect, and Mr. Paravicini (Ricky Oliver) who finds their dangerous situation a hoot as he arrives unexpectedly due to a car accident. What has brought these unique individuals together? Is someone plotting revenge? I am not allowed to tell, as you will be forewarned when you attend. The spooky set by Christopher and Justin Swader and the glorious costuming by Kathleen DeAngelis are worth the price of admission alone, and the talented cast is superb. For tickets ($25-55), call the Sharon Playhouse, 49 Amenia Road, Sharon at 860-364-7469 or online at SharonPlayhouse.org. Performances are Thursday at 2 p.m., Friday at 7 p.m., Saturday 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m.
Come play Sherlock Holmes and delight in the mystery surrounding Monkswell Manor and its intriguing bevy of occupants, one of whom could well be a murderer, and at least one of them is the quite dead victim.
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