Donna Ruth Duggan Lile
October 2, 2012
Chabert hit with added cuts and job losses
October 5, 2012
Thibodaux Playhouse aims to keep audiences at the edge of their seats during a murder mystery with one of the best-kept secrets of the stage.
The playhouse presents “The Mousetrap” by Agatha Christie. Written by one of the world’s most successful authors, the clever plot engages the audience from start to finish.
“This is your classic Agatha Christie,” Director Doug DeGirolamo says. “It has fun, great characters and it is a murder mystery, so it will keep you guessing the whole way through.”
“The Mousetrap” was originally written as a radio play titled “Three Blind Mice” that was broadcast in 1947. Christie adapted the radio play into a short story of the same name before ultimately rewriting it for the stage.
With the show’s original opening in London in 1952, it has run continuously through the years with more than 24,500 performances to date, making it the longest running show of the modern era. “The Mousetrap” is also known for its thrilling plot and twist ending, which audiences are traditionally asked not to reveal after leaving the theatre.
The plot unfolds at Monkswell Manor, where news on the radio reports that someone has recently been murdered in London. A young married couple, Mollie and Giles Ralston, who converted their estate into a guesthouse, hardly notices the news. They are busy preparing for the arrival of their first guests and concerned about heavy snowfall that may prevent the guests from reaching the manor.
“The show is about a gr oup of strangers stuck in a boarding house during a snowstorm in England only to hear on the radio that there is a killer on the loose,” DeGirolamo says. “Not long after they hear that, a police sergeant arrives believing that the killer is among them and he must now try to find out who it is, before he or she strikes again.”
Suspects include the young married couple, a spinster with a curious background, an architect who seems better equipped to be a chef, a retired Army major and an unexpected visitor who claims his car has run into a snowdrift.
Mollie Ralston, played by Cheyenne Miller, is the young wife frantically prepping for the new arrivals with her husband Giles, played by Nathan Egnew.
“Mollie is happy and excited to be opening the guesthouse for the first time,” Miller says.
As guests begin to arrive, the curious personalities begin to mix.
Christopher Wren, played by Dillon Hughes, is the first to arrive. Wren is a hyperactive and peculiar young man who admits he is running away from something but refuses to say what.
“He is a neurotic college student,” Hughes says. “He is pretty insane.”
Wren claims to have been named by his parents after the famous architect of the same name.
Next is Mrs. Boyle, played by Mary Matherne, who is a critical older woman pleased by nothing she observes in the manor.
“She is in a very bad mood because nothing is going the way she thought it was going to go,” Matherne says. “Absolutely everything is wrong. Everything is wrong, and she lets them know it.”
Major Metcalf, played by Roger Hernandez, arrives shortly after. He is retired from the Army, but very little else is known about him.
“He is just coming around for a little vacation of sorts,” Hernandez says. “He has a questionable past himself and he gets stuck with all these wonderful people.”
Miss Casewell, played by Julia Chauvin, is a detached woman who speaks curtly about the appalling experiences of her childhood. She is the last official guest to arrive.
“She is an odd woman,” Chauvin says. “She is called very peculiar.”
Mr. Paravicini, played by Damon Stentz, turns up out of nowhere claiming his car has overturned in a snowdrift. His appearance seems artificially aged with make-up and his voice holds a foreign accent. He often walks around the manor letting out an evil laugh.
“He is very eccentric, creepy and strange,” Stentz says. “Nobody really knows what his deal is.”
Lastly, Sergeant Trotter, played by Seth Pontiff, arrives to protect and if necessary, interrogate the guests.
“He is the cheerful sergeant who comes in to try and unravel the mystery,” Pontiff says.
During his interrogation, Sgt. Trotter uncovers the many mysterious secrets of everyone present, as he and the audience try to solve the murder in true Christie style.
The play runs from Oct. 19-28 at the Wetlands Acadian Cultural Center Theatre, 314 St. Mary St., Thibodaux. Tickets are $20, and $15 for students. For more information, call (985) 446-1896 or visit www.thibodauxplayhouse.com.
Tension builds as Sgt. Trotter (Seth Pontiff) begins to explain the connection between the guesthouse and a murder to Major Metcalf (Roger Hernandez, left), Miss Casewell (Julia Chauvin, right) and Molly Ralston (Cheyenne Miller, back) in rehearsal for “The Mousetrap.” The murder mystery opens Oct. 19 at the Wetlands Acadian Cultural Center.
