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The Mousetrap at Gulfshore Playhouse (Photos by Nick Adams)
By Nancy Stetson
How well can we really know someone, who they truly are, their motivations? We know what they tell us, what they want us to see. And for those who are evil or manipulative, the outer appearance can be just an illusion.
“You never know what anyone is really like or what they’re thinking,” says a character early on in Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap (playing on Gulfshore Playhouse’s Moran Mainstage in Naples through Feb. 15.)
This classic play, the longest-running in the world, is full of mischievous misdirection. The playwright toys with her audience like a cat plays with a mouse before killing it, while occasionally feeding us red herrings.
This is an ensemble piece. We’re presented with seven people snowed in at the Great Hall of Monkswell Manor in 1950s England. Five are guests (one shows up unexpectedly, claiming his car is stuck in a snowdrift) and two are the husband-and-wife hosts, Giles (Tony Carter) and Mollie (Tarah Flanagan).
An eighth shows up later – the earnest and upright Detective Sergeant Trotter (Michael Doherty). There’s a murderer on the loose, and someone nearby has already been killed. All indications are that this newly opened lodging house will be the next place they’ll target their next victim.
Christie drops clues like Hansel and Gretel trailing breadcrumbs.
Trotter reasons that the murderer is one of the seven, as they are all snowed in together.
Each character, at one time or another, gives a reason for sufficient motivation, voices their dislike of another guest, or acts suspiciously.
The murderer is described on the wireless as wearing a dark coat, light scarf, and soft felt hat – a description that fits all the characters.
“All our guests are unpleasant or odd,” sniffs Giles.
Some are deemed suspicious because they’re gay and don’t fit societal norms. Christopher Wren (Gavin Michaels) is high-strung and fidgety. “I don’t like his kind,” Giles growls. Is this a clue, or is Giles trying to deflect suspicion?
Miss Casewell (Elisabeth Yancey) favors trousers and ties and is direct in her speech. Mr. Paravicini (Brian Owen) is Italian and speaks with an accent. His flamboyance juts up against British propriety. (Owen has great physicality, literally dancing around to the music of his sentences.)
No one likes Mrs. Boyle (Beth Hylton, recently seen as Martha in Gulfshore Playhouse’s production of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?) She’s critical and demanding; no one comes up to her high standards. She claims the hosts are “amateurish” and when asked how her bed was, deems it “quite adequate,” damning with faint praise. She makes it easy for audiences to dislike her character.
Major Metcalf (Christopher Gerson) is a cipher. With his military background, he has the training to kill someone. And what was he doing poking around in the cellar?
Giles and Mollie, newlywed just a year, are also suspicious, both lying to the other about their whereabouts earlier in the day. They married after a brief courtship; how well do they really know each other? With their nervous flightiness, Mollie and Christopher seem to form an alliance.
All the actors give nuanced portrayals, taking care not to turn into stereotypes or caricatures.
Scenic designer Robert Mark Morgan has given them all a grand room in which to sulk and skulk about, bicker and cast side glances at each other. There’s a large fireplace, wood paneling, enough doors and entryways for quick exits and entrances, and an oversized two-story window that dominates, presenting ever-rising snowdrifts outside and a darkening sky.
Lighting designer Jimmy Lawlor’s spooky lighting adds to the suspense, especially when a murder occurs. And Jane Shaw’s soundscape, an ominous low humming, helps ramp up the tension subconsciously.
Laura Kepley deftly directs this classic, building suspense but also mining Christie’s dry humor. Her staging feels organic, and a scene where she has the suspects standing in a row, looking like a police line-up, is especially clever. This is Kepley’s directorial debut at Gulfshore Playhouse, and I hope we see more of her in the future.
Kathleen Geldard’s costumes and Bobbie Zlotnik’s wigs transform this cast into realistic characters from early 1950’s Britain. (Owen’s Brylcreemed hair and his Salvador Dali-esque moustache are as outlandish as his character.)
If you’re an Agatha Christie fan, this production will be enormously satisfying. But even if you’re not, it will keep you engrossed…and guessing the identity of the murderer.
While The Mousetrap entertains, it’s also unsettling to see how introducing suspicion and doubt can erode trust in relationships and cause strangers to turn against each other.
It’s been said, “Build a better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to your door.” Gulfshore Playhouse – director Kepley, cast and creative crew—have built a better “Mousetrap.”
The Mousetrap plays at Gulfshore Playhouse, 100 Goodlette-Frank Road South, Naples, through Feb. 15. The runtime is two hours and 10 minutes with an intermission. Tickets are $139, $129, $99 and $39. (Discounts for educators and students with ID.) For more information or tickets call (239) 261-7529 or go to www.gulfshoreplayhouse.org.
The Mousetrap
