Keep your eyes peeled and ears open. In Marathon Community Theatre’s final main stage show of the season, every second counts.
“The Mousetrap,” opening May 2, carries the weight of the world’s all-time best-selling fiction author, Agatha Christie, along with an unchallenged record as by far the longest-running play in history since its London opening in 1952. It’s a name, and a run, the MCT cast hopes to live up to as they bring the whodunit with a twist ending to life.
“It’s come a very long way from the beginning, but they’re definitely ready,” director Maresa Casey said of her cast.
Technical director Jim Zimmerman’s meticulous set transports audiences to Monkswell Manor, a newly-converted guest house run by Mollie (Karen Shotwell) and Giles (Larry Garrison) Ralston. Soon after a host of guests arrive, each none too thrilled to be in the presence of the others, the snowed-in home receives an unsettling visitor arriving on skis – Detective Sergeant Trotter (Lee Lawson), sent to head off an expected murder attempt by a suspected serial killer in the making.
In less than 12 hours, Monkswell Manor itself becomes a crime scene. And while MCT has become known for interactive performances in recent years, Casey said “The Mousetrap” demands absolute focus to root out the killer.
“Listen for the clues,” she said. “There are so many clues in each little scene, in things that are said and in the props.”
The cast of “The Mousetrap” runs the gamut from decades-long performers to those making their main-stage debuts. It’s a blend Casey said helped her in her own main-stage directorial premiere, along with the advice of her mentor and longtime MCT director Jackie O’Neil.
“Jackie is a great inspiration, and so easy to work with. And Jerry (Nussenblatt), Brian (Witte) and John (Schaefer), they’ve given me advice along the way, and I’ve definitely taken it,” she said. “Mary (Stella) is the newest person, and she just got right in there and was great from the beginning.”
Others, like Dion Watson and Lawson, are a far cry from their respective deadpan and Speedo-clad debut roles in “The Rocky Horror Show.”
“Lee has come out of his shell,” Casey said. “We’ve seen a whole 180 with him, and this has been a very good blend.”
“The Mousetrap” runs on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. from May 2 through 18, with a closing 3 p.m. matinee on Sunday, May 19. Tickets are $28 before tax and are available at marathontheater.org or by calling 305-743-0994.
Photos by Alex Rickert and Lee Lawson.
