Building a better Mousetrap

Some interesting trivia surrounds this cloak and dagger piece.  Movie rights are absolutely verboten: it's the ending, you see, and at the close of each performance, an actor politely asks the audience "not to tell." Therefore, Maggie Smith, Judi Dench, Jeremy Irons, Rufus Sewall, Rupert Everett, and countless others may never get the chance to play roles like Mrs. Boyle or Sgt. Trotter. Also, the play was originally called "Three Blind Mice" but since this title was already copyrighted, Christie chose Hamlet's title for his play wherein he hoped to catch the conscience of the king.

Two actors, Mysie Monte and David Raven played the roles of Mrs. Boyle and Major Metcalf for a staggering eleven years with typical British dependability. Another curiosity about this play is that famed director, Richard Attenborough played Trotter for two years on the London Stage, and his wife Sheila Sim appeared as Mrs. Ralston.  Finally, a very pleasant tradition has evolved  when the cast undergoes its yearly change: A Mouse Party is held where the outgoing leading lady and the incoming star cut a huge but cute rodent-shaped cake.

The Mousetrap is set in an isolated guest house called Monkswell Manor about an hour from London. The Ralstons are a young couple who are welcoming their first customers on a "dark and stormy" night.  Snow is falling furiously as one guest after another arrives. Meanwhile, the wireless has announced the grisly murder of a Mrs. Lyon in the country's capital, and the alleged murderer is described as wearing a black coat, a dark felt hat and a white scarf.   Each character  who appears on the stage thereafter, including Giles Ralston, is wearing some variation of this costume.  

While not as numerous as the passengers aboard Porter's  Ship of Fools, the assembled guests at Monkswell Manor comprise a good cross-section of humanity. The Ralstons (Laurel Green and Doug Krehbiel) are young  and optimistic  about their new enterprise. Christopher Wren (Taylor Kulp) is a hyperactive, edgy young man who has chosen the name of the famous architect to mask his real identity. Mrs. Boyle (Laurie Freed) is a crank, pure and simple. A retired magistrate, she moves from hotel to hotel and complains about everything from the food to the central heating or lack thereof.  Major Metcalf (Gordon Adams) and Miss Casewell (Elizabeth Replogle) are doughty British types: the retired military man and the maiden lady who lives abroad. Mr. Paravicini (Keith Brown) is a suspicious foreigner whose car has turned over  in a snowdrift.  He travels with no luggage and is forever muttering menacingly. Finally, the local constabulary is represented by Sgt. Trotter(David Dieudonne) who arrives on skis and informs the alarmed guests that the phone line has been cut and, most likely, the London murderer is either on his way or present in that drawing room.

This last possibility, a killer in their midst, is a venerable device used in sleuth fiction, and Trotter's rationating ways make him a lesser clone of Christie's famous Miss Marple and Hercule Poiret.  My lips are sealed about the rest of the story, but  I can say that part of the  plot is based on a sensational crime that occurred in England in 1945, and that the spotlight of suspicion as to whodunit falls on everyone including Mollie Ralston and her husband.  

 Director, Pauline Griller-Mitchell, pointed out a most-amazing fact about the cast: four of the actors are themselves directors.  Furthermore, Gordon Adams (Metcalf) played the role of the young Christopher Wren fifty years ago.  Ms. Griller-Mitchell was justifiably proud of the set (built on the premises) which featured a hand-painted parquet floor.  The various doorways, the staircase to the bedrooms on the second floor, the French windows all worked well to handle the many comings and goings at Monksmore Manor, which originally was capacious medieval monastery.

The strongest performances belong to Laurel Green as Mollie, Laurie Freed as the cantankerous Mrs. Boyle and David Dieudonne, god's gift to the role of Sgt. Trotter.
Perhaps it was the character of the audience the night of the preview, but their reactions blurred the lines between a suspense thriller and a hilarious farce. To be sure the script contains many witty and ironic lines, but  every time Christopher Wren appeared and spoke, loud laughter arose, and it is doubtful that Christie intended him to be a buffoon. Likewise Paravicini caused loud squeals which were quite disconcerting.

Granted,  Paravicini's Italian accent is supposed to sound phony, he is highly rouged and his lines all resemble, "Curses, foiled again," but he spends too much time in campyland. Ditto for Christopher Wren. The latter is a very hard role to pull off in order to strike the balance between possible psychopathic behavior and genuine vulnerability.  What came across was distressing to watch especially the fey mannerisms which seem to take liberties with the author's intent and add weight to an  already psychologically- burdened character.

With such skilled and experienced veteran actors and directors, these problems should be minimized as the performances continue. The answer to my question about the possible irrelevance of the play is a resounding "No."  The Mousetrap still has lots of spring and snap; it keeps the audience amused and guessing until the last moments. Everyone should see this play: it is not only a  national but international treasure.

The play will run until July 26. Fri, Sat @ 8, Sun matinees @ 2 on 7/12 & 7/26.
Silver Spring Stage is located in the Woodmore Shopping Center, 10145 Colesville Rd.
301-593-6036. ssstage.org.