The Mousetrap
The Mousetrap at Garland Civic Theatre
My thoughts on The Mousetrap or…a classic comes to Garland
It may still be 90-plus degrees outside, but inside Garland Civic Theatre, there are chills aplenty.
There’s a reason Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap has played over 30,000 performances in London. It’s a top-drawer Christie murder mystery, and in the hands of Director Carol M. Rice and her talented cast, it’s top-drawer theater.
Everything about this production feels spot on. The interior of the well-appointed British guest house, Monkswell Manor, designed by Mark Hawkins, features numerous doors and a central window, ideal for a murderer to slip in and out. Catherine M. Luster’s lighting sets the perfect mood for the play, while Jason Rice’s outstanding sound design plays a major role in the story. Kerra Sims’ costumes not only define the characters but also capture the essence of the early 1950s era.
A radio broadcast announces a murder in London and describes the suspect’s clothing. Outside Monkswell Manor, a blizzard rages, making the roads increasingly impassable. Meanwhile, guests begin to arrive one by one at the newly opened guesthouse run by Mollie and Giles Ralston (Sana Bajpai and Russell Sims).
Young Christopher Wren (Jed Carr), a twenty-something quirky architecture student, Mrs. Boyle (Camilla Norder), a pretentious, impossible to please former magistrate, Major Metcalf (Steve Iwanski), a retired Army man, and Miss Casewell (Ashli Lucio Moses), an aloof, enigmatic young woman, arrive and begin to settle in, squabble a bit, and get on each other’s nerves. Mr. Paravicini (Timothy Turner-Parrish), a mysterious man, arrives claiming his Rolls-Royce is overturned in the snow and needs a room. Every one of the guests has a secret, and one of them will be dead before Act I ends.
Mollie gets a call from the police informing her that Sergeant Trotter (Bradford Reilly) is on his way. Trotter reveals a link between Monkswell Manor and the London murder and starts investigating the murder that takes place at the Manor. Everyone is a suspect. I shan’t reveal more.
The Mousetrap is packed with suspense, clever red herrings, and plenty of humor. Director Rice brings an almost cinematic touch to the play with her expert pacing of each scene, and the production is so polished it could easily be an episode of “Masterpiece Theater.”
The performances are outstanding all around, and the cast consistently delivers flawless British accents. I especially enjoyed Reilly’s portrayal of Trotter, who dominates Act II, and Turner-Parrish’s scene-stealing, "musical" performance as Paravicini.
I was thoroughly engrossed in and impressed by Christie’s play. It’s a wonderfully diverting piece of theater. By all means, get your sleuth on and see this marvelously murderous Mousetrap.
Production Photos by Carol M. Rice
