VENICE — With so many quality theaters in the area, it was only a matter of time before I would see two versions of the same work within a short time — 12 days as it happened.
This time it was “The Mousetrap,” the Agatha Christie thriller. The first performance I saw was on the main stage at the Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre in Fort Myers. The date was Friday, Aug. 9. It was a very fine production on a stage usually the site of big musicals.
The second performance was Wednesday, Aug. 21 in the 90-seat black box Pinkerton Theatre at Venice Theatre. That venue lends itself to a variety of layouts in which patrons might sit on opposite sides of a central stage or on three sides in a variation on theater in the round or, in the case of this show, facing the stage.
That put the audience on one side of a very British English drawing room at “Monkwell Manor.” It was snowing outside, something that could complicate things should a dastardly deed occur.
At the Broadway Palm, a video screen the width of the stage provided a backdrop of a raging blizzard outside the windows.
In the Pinkerton, there was no such system. There was an intimate drawing room at the manor with a glowing fire in the fireplace, leaded glass windows that looked out at the snowy landscape and stairs leading to guest rooms above, as well as to other rooms at the manor off to the sides.
It was this intimate setting created by designer Tim Wisgerhoff and the direction of Scott Keys (the same Scott Keys who was the creator of Venice Theatre’s “A Christmas Carol”) that made the difference.
“A Christmas Carol” is the other show I happened to see twice within a week about 22 years ago. The other version has not been seen again, although it was in a professional theater in Sarasota. It was not that good but it was the version, not the acting.
We in the audience were “in” that room where a murder would happen, yet quite safe from the killer — whoever that might have been. That is the beauty of this story — Who dunnit?
The Pinkerton cast includes Stacy Gilson as Mollie Ralston, Zachary Taylor as Giles Ralston, Seth A. L. Grayson as Christopher Wren, Ann Chalifoux as Mrs. Boyle, William “Will” Smith as Major Metcalf, Nicol Moeller as Miss Casewell, John Wyczlinski as Mr. Paravincini and Tom Horton as Detective Sergeant Trotter, who arrives on skis because of the blizzard in this area outside of London.
Mrs. Boyle is a rather snobby woman who thinks she might be too good to stay in this manor house that has only just opened. That the owners are a newly married couple with no experience in hospitality does no sit well with her.
She won’t have to deal with them for very long, however. Nor will the Ralstons have to listen to her complaints for long. They are young near-newlyweds and proprietors who have taken reservations for an intriguing group of people.
So who did the dastardly deed? The roads are clogged with snow. The phone stops working after a while, and more than one person might have a reason to murder Mrs. Boyle, if for no other reason than her snobby attitude.
But there is more to her story.
Wren, of course is not the famed architect, although he is strange enough that perhaps he could have a motive for the murder — or not.
Mr. Paravincini is delightfully odd, yet perhaps that is a ruse. Miss Casewell is an intriguing character. One wonders why she is even there. Might she have cause?
Major Metcalf is closer in age to the victim. Might he have a reason? The proprietors should not be killing their first guests, yet that policeman certainly gives Mrs. Ralston the third degree.
And why was Mr. Ralston gone so long in the afternoon?
In any case, the direction and Wisgerhof’s set make this classic tale a must-see. Wisgerhof’s sets are always brilliant but this time he has turned that black box theater into a perfect British manor house with leaded windows, formal fireplace, draperies and more.
That he has that wonderful tech building and so many volunteers to teach the art of antiquing and more in order to make new look old adds the finishing details.
One show after another, that little black box theater is transformed to fit whatever story is being presented. Recently, it was the perfect children’s book shop.
This time, with the work of resident scenic designer, plus tech guru John Andzulis, and a host of volunteers, the little black box theater was the perfect British manor house setting for this Agatha Christie thriller.
“The Mousetrap” is not just another whodunnit. This play is the longest running show of any kind in the world. It has played in London’s West End since November 1952.
