October 12, 2008 - Tech week this week – the time to get all the sounds, lights, props and so on all working and at the right time. We had our first tech run through tonight for The Mousetrap. I must say it’s looking great! Even though I have been intimately involved with this show for weeks now (as Christopher Wren – “a singularly ill-mannered and neurotic young man” according to Mrs. Boyle), I must say you will thoroughly enjoy the show.
The stage has been turned into the parlour of Monkswell Manor with a grand staircase and lots of old period furniture of “lovely proportions.” The audience will be as voyeurs looking in on the comings and goings of Mr. and Mrs. Ralston as they open their new guest house and welcome a menagerie of rather unique characters to stay for the sum of “seven guineas a week.”
Each character has a past – one they would like to stay hidden. Trying to stay warm during a blizzard, the guests interact among themselves and Detective Sergeant Trotter who shows up on skis to investigate a murder that took place just before the story opens and “as a matter of police protection” for the guests at Monkswell Manor. Sgt. Trotter believes another murder linked to the first one will be attempted at Monkswell Manor much to the skepticism of the guests and the Ralstons.
In spite of Sgt. Trotter, someone dies and we watch the stories unfold as the audience sees first one person then another look as though he or she could have been the murderer. Was it Giles Ralston, husband of Mollie who went off “racing around the countryside” to look for chicken netting – or did he? Perhaps it was Paravicini, the unexpected guest, a foreigner whose car overturns in the snow and who just shows up? Where did he come from, anyway? Maybe it was Christopher Wren, the budding architect, who is the right age and very odd. He adores nursery rhymes and cooking and finds the idea of a murder quite funny. And what of that “terrible female” Miss Casewell, “if she is a female.” What’s her connection?
In Agatha Christie’s play, a murder is more than a mystery. There is humor and pathos and the always fascinating interplay of characters and personalities which Christopher Wren finds “madly interesting.”
Personally, I have enjoyed working on The Mousetrap so much, I’ve hardly noticed all the extra time away from my “day job” to work on it. Brian Kreider (“The Blue-Eyed Six” and “Milton Hershey, the Play”) is directing for the Playhouse for the first time. It’s been a pleasure and a learning opportunity for me. Have we finally settled on my character, Brian?
One of the terrific parts of community theater is working with other regular people, many of whom I have either worked with or had the pleasure of watching perform already. We share the love of bringing text to life and sharing the intimacy of theatre, especially our Playhouse theatre with its three-quarter setting, with the audience. Personally, I feel privileged to have worked with seven talented actors and a group of skilled technical people, not to mention my wife, the producer.
Everyone should see The Mousetrap at Hershey Area Playhouse. It’s been running for 56 years at St. Martin’s Theatre in London, the longest running show in the world, ever. It will run only two weekends in Hershey so do not miss it!
- John Messmer
You could tell the show’s songs hit really close to home, as you could see the tears in their eyes. Those of us who have been in shows know the excitement of the show’s opening and the sadness when it closes. It’s always important to enjoy the ride, and remember another show will always come around - and, speaking of shows, we have a great line-up here next year, I look forward to seeing you all there!