Stage Review: 'Mousetrap' is satisfying whodunit

Photo by Brent Davis

Beverly Morlang (from left), Michael Bechard, Emily Burnett, Chris Sterling, and Joshua Quinn in "Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap" at Germantown Community Theatre.

Germantown Community Theatre does some productions particularly well, as is the case with the current whodunit, "Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap."

The perennially popular murder mystery, with all the British caricatures and twists that Christie lovers adore, is given a highly entertaining staging by director Josie Helming. The characters are brought on with English briskness, storylines and characters properly established, and one of the unfortunate guests at isolated Monkswell Manor is dispatched to the hereafter by the end of the first act.

Act Two is devoted to revealing the various ways in which each character's murky past might provide motive for murder. And naturally, each one of them had opportunity. The only question is, will the detective get it all sorted before another victim cries out?

Helming has cast the play with a nice mix of veterans and newcomers. At a preview performance last week, Janie Paris, always a delight even when playing an unsympathetic character, never missed a beat as the constantly complaining guest who gets on everyone's nerves.

Joshua Quinn is also splendid at Detective Sgt. Trotter and, with his musical background, provides a nearly operatic version of "Three Blind Mice" -- a bonus for this otherwise nonmusical production.

The hostess at Monkswell Manor, Mollie Ralston, is played by Emily Burnett with a fine sense of British propriety and fluster at the mysterious goings-on.

While the actors do good work in setting the tone, it's worth noting that the set goes a long way to filling out the atmosphere. Kerry Strahm, who has long done set design for Germantown Community Theatre, not only makes the most of the tiny space, but the attention to detail and effect makes all the difference. It looks like an English guest house, not an approximation thrown together for the stage.

A jolly good show all around.

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"Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap"

At Germantown Community Theatre, 3037 Forest Hill-Irene Road, through Nov. 13. Showtimes: 7:30 p.m. Thursdays, 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 2:30 p.m. Sundays. Tickets: $15-$21; call (901) 754-2680 or go to germantowncommunitytheatre.org.

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