By Sheila Abrams
I knew there had to be a reason that Agatha Christie’s classic murder mystery, The Mousetrap, is the longest-running play in modern history. It opened in London’s West End back in 1952, when England was just barely recovering from the traumas of World War II. And it’s still running, the production turning 60 this year.
I assumed this had to do with the British fondness for tradition. Now, having seen the production now on stage at the Centenary Stage Company’s beautiful Sitnik Theatre, I know better. The Mousetrap has never stopped running because it delivers a smashing good time.
How could it not? The plot, by the Queen of the Whodunit, is intricate and absorbing, with a surprise twist at the end. The time is the late 1940s, the setting, a guest house outside of London, cut off from the rest of the world by an unexpected snow storm. From the instant the curtain rises, the atmosphere is rife with a sense of discomfort that quickly turns to menace.
The owners of the house, Monkswell Manor, are Giles and Mollie Ralston. As their first guests arrive, virtually blown in by the storm, it becomes clear that they are a group of English-murder-mystery stereotypes: the haughty and disagreeable older lady, the retired Army officer, the flamboyantly eccentric young man and the stern, somewhat masculine young woman. Later, they are joined by a stereotypically shifty-eyed foreigner, allegedly there because of an auto accident. No one, of course, believes him. (Above L-R: Megan Irene Davis is Mollie and Kevin Sebastian is Detective Sergeant Trotter)
They are stereotypes, we realized, because Christie created them as such. In this play, she establishes a cast of characters who we will see in one form or another in English whodunits, by Christie and others. In this play, Dame Agatha essentially invented the genre.
The landlords and the guests are joined by Sgt. Trotter, a young policeman who, eccentrically enough, arrives on skis. There has been a murder in London which is somehow linked to Monkswell Manor and one or more of its residents. Trotter is here to unravel the mystery.
The mystery is complex and intriguing. The characters are colorful. It’s obvious that people are not necessarily who they say they are. As things progress, the audience finds itself sucked into the vortex of the crime and its long history.
Centenary’s production, directed by Carl Wallnau, is simply superb. On a beautiful set, created by Emmy-winning Broadway set designer Bob Phillips and enhanced by the absolutely inspired lighting design of Ed Matthews, the tale unfolds. The cast is wonderful. The irritatingly arrogant Mrs. Boyle is played to perfection by Kathleen Huber, whose credits include seven Agatha Christie characters. (Among them, the beloved detective, Miss Marple.)
David Edwards, who appears as Mr. Paravicini, the strange foreigner, avoids eye contact with the other characters, enhancing the notion that he is not to be trusted. Megan Irene Davis brings an appealing vulnerability to the character of Mollie Ralston. And as the eccentric young Sergeant Trotter, Kevin Sebastian projects a rock-solid self-assurance that suggests another dimension to his character. (Above right: David Edwards is Mr. Paravicini and Kathleen Huber is Mrs. Boyle)
The English accents are done so well that we are not sure which, if any, of the actors are actually English. This is a cast of pros who know what they are doing.
Those attending the Centenary production are asked, as London audiences are, not to reveal the surprise final twist.The Mousetrap will run through Oct. 21.
It’s worth reasserting that the Centenary Stage Company is a fully professional, Actors Equity theater company and that this is not a student production. (Centenary College does have a theater department and it sometimes has student productions, but they are clearly identified as such. And the same goes for the college’s Young Performers program.)
