Read the Houston Chronicle review, Alley builds a better, livelier Mousetrap.

Read the Houston Press review, “Lively, imaginative…A rich experience...A tale wonderfully told”

ExxonMobil Summer Chills

Agatha Christie's
The Mousetrap

Written by the undisputed mistress of the thriller genre, The Mousetrap follows a group of strangers - one of whom is a murderer - trapped in a boarding house during a snow storm. Is it the newlyweds whose rampant suspicions nearly wreck their marriage, or the spinster with the curious background? Perhaps it is the architect, the retired Army major, or the odd man who claims his car overturned in a snow drift? Here's your opportunity to enjoy every suspenseful moment and unexpected revelation in the longest-running show in theatre history.
Recommended for general audiences.

Todd Waite and Josie de Guzman on KUHF’s The Front Row discuss Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap. Go Here

I approached the Alley Theatre's current revival of Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap with some trepidation.

I mean, that old warhorse? Sure, it's run forever in London's West End (actually, since 1952), but that production has become something of a self-perpetuating mechanism that keeps running simply because it's always been running.

Meanwhile, after all these years and several previous Alley mountings, wouldn't this prototype "group of suspicious strangers stranded at an isolated country house and one of them's a murderer" thriller seem a tad musty by now?

But darned if director Gregory Boyd and his accomplished cast don't make the whole thing leap to vivid life. If a company is going to do a formula warhorse play, they've got to do it as well as it can possibly be done. And playing this mystery yarn with great expertise and style, that's exactly what Team Alley has done.

The set-up is classic. Newlyweds of just one year, Mollie and Giles Ralston are opening a guest house in the isolated country manor that Mollie inherited from her aunt. Just as their four eccentric guests arrive for the opening weekend, a snowstorm strikes, stranding the six souls there. Oh, and one more: the even more suspicious Signor Paravacini, who arrives unexpectedly, claiming his car has overturned in a snowdrift. He takes the last room.

Next comes the phone call from the police, alerting the group that someone at the guest house is being sought in connection with a London murder. Inspector Trotter arrives (on skis, yet!) and sets about unraveling the web of intrigue — with little cooperation from the secretive suspects - to determine which of them is the killer before he or she can strike again.

Every cliché of the genre is trotted out with a shamelessness that becomes enjoyable in itself: the radio conveniently broadcasting news of the murder, the cut telephone wire, the creaking door, the stage plunged into darkness at a key moment. There's no denying the effectiveness of Christie's plotting, the appeal of her eccentric character touches and such skillfully deployed devices as the recurrent use of the macabre nursery tune Three Blind Mice.

Once again, Boyd demonstrates a genuine flair for this genre. He makes the most of every opportunity, whether the comedy in the prickly interplay of the characters or the suspense in the increasingly dark doings. He sparks the action with playfully inventive touches in his staging, as when characters go exploring through the manor, disappearing through one doorway, then moments later, popping out unexpectedly somewhere else.

Even those who are not mystery fans can appreciate this Mousetrap as a master class in character acting. Every one of the eight cast members is absolutely spot-on.

Elizabeth Bunch brings her customary clarity, crispness and conviction to Mollie, making her a strong dramatic center for the play. Chris Hutchison is ideal as Giles, projecting an affable, regular-guy quality but with the hint of dark edges as yet undiscovered.

Todd Waite all but commits grand larceny with his hilarious, touching, superbly detailed characterization as the fey, whimsical and wildly unpredictable Christopher Wren. Anne Quackenbush makes the grandest old battle-ax of the imperious Mrs. Boyle, haughtily disapproving of everything. James Belcher is the soul of old-school dignity as Major Metcalf: bluff, hearty, yet easily affronted.

Josie de Guzman invests Miss Casewell with quiet strength and self-sufficiency - she's wry, worldly and enigmatic. John Tyson's possibly spurious Italian eccentric Paravacini is witty, wily and mercurial - outrageously comic one moment, genuinely sinister the next. As Detective Sergeant Trotter, the most understated role, Jeffrey Bean arrives seeming deceptively unimpressive, then steps up the resourcefulness and tenacity, becoming a force to reckon with.

First-class production values enhance the play's appeal, from Linda Buchanan's elaborately handsome setting, to Tricia Barsamian's stylish costumes, to the atmospheric lighting by Michael Lincoln and sound design by Pierre Dupree.

It's interesting that while other old-fashioned entertainment genres have fallen out of favor, Christie's mystery plays still exert broad and potent box-office appeal. Whether you're experiencing it for the first or the umpteenth time, this expertly realized production makes it a treat to get caught in The Mousetrap.