The Mousetrap at HCT

Even though I am a huge fan of Agatha Christie (I made a goal of reading all of her novels when I was a teenager) and The Mousetrap, based on the short story Three Blind Mice by Christie, is the longest running play in history (it has been performed in London's West End since 1952) I had never seen it before! I was, therefore, really excited to see HCT's production of this murder mystery yesterday afternoon. Mollie Ralston (Kristi Curtis) and her husband Giles (BJ Whimpey) have converted their large estate, Monkswell Manor, into a guesthouse and are nervously getting ready to welcome their first paying customers during a severe snowstorm. News of a grisly murder with ties to a neighboring village reaches the manor just as the guests, including Christopher Wren (Colton Hattabaugh), Mrs. Boyle (Heidi Scott), Major Metcalf (Douglas Irey), and Miss Casewell (Taylor McKay Barnes), arrive one by one.  An unexpected guest, Mr. Paravacini (Chandler Bishop), arrives rather suspiciously a few hours later after his car is overturned in a snowdrift and Detective Sergeant Trotter (Adam Packard) skis his way to the snowbound manor to investigate a clue about the aforementioned murder. When one of the guests, who has a mysterious connection to the murder victim, is found dead it seems that everyone has a secret and it is up to Sergeant Trotter to solve the crime before another murder occurs. Information about each character's backstory is revealed very slowly and strict attention must be paid in order to discover the solution, including a major twist, so I found the plot to be quite riveting (I love British period dramas).  I didn't guess the ending because it is a clever subversion of traditional murder mystery tropes (there were audible gasps from the audience during a key moment). The ensemble cast is outstanding (I saw a mixture of the MWF and TTHS casts) but I especially enjoyed Hattabaugh as the eccentric Wren because he is so flamboyant and all of his facial expressions made me laugh. My favorite aspect of this production is the spectacular set (which is often the case at HCT). It is exactly what you would expect a British country manor house to look like with a large stone fireplace, wall sconces, intricate staircases, Victorian-era furniture, doilies, and landscape paintings. I was particularly struck by the attention to detail, especially the authentic women's magazines from the 1950s. I also loved seeing the snow falling outside through the window. I had a lot of fun watching this play and the traditional admonition to keep the ending a secret from future audience members put a smile on my face as I left the theatre. I highly recommend it with the proviso that younger audience members might not enjoy it (the teens sitting behind me seemed a bit bored).  The Mousetrap runs on the Sorenson Legacy Jewel Box Stage through November 20 (go here fore tickets).

Note:  Don't miss the beautiful production of The Secret Garden on the Young Living Centre Stage which runs through October 23 (go here for tickets).