A surprisingly surprising murder mystery
The world’s longest-running play still has power to shock and surprise at Hartford Stage
The best line heard uttered Friday night performance of “The Mousetrap” at Hartford Stage happened during the second act. In one word, the speaker expressed surprise, dismay and the distinct sound of someone who was hoodwinked. That wonderful “What?!” emanated from the audience at the moment the killer’s identity was revealed near the end of the second act of this very popular, very old-fashioned yet still highly entertaining and surprisingly surprising murder mystery.
“The Mousetrap” is the longest-running play in the history of theater. Its London run had to pause its streak at 68 years to take a 14-month COVID hiatus but started back up last year. No other show comes close. The number of performances of “The Mousetrap” equals that of the London runs of “Phantom of the Opera” and “Les Misérables” combined.
“The Mousetrap” is based on a short story, “Three Blind Mice,” by Agatha Christie, a record-breaker herself for selling more fiction books than anyone except for Shakespeare. So it’s remarkable that we don’t all know whodunnit already, the way we all know about Norman Bates or Rosebud.
There’s a greater trick afoot. Director Jackson Gay and a well-picked cast of eight actors have taken a genre that these days is only known from parodies (think “Clue: On Stage,” “The Play That Goes Wrong” or Ken Ludwig’s Connecticut-set “The Game’s Afoot!”) and remind us why plays like this worked in the first place.
Hartford Stage presented a new adaption (by Ken Ludwig!) of “Murder on the Orient Express” a few years ago, and while both that show and this “Mousetrap” had grand, fancy sets, this one feels more lived-in. The characters may seem like stereotypes, but they also seem like people with secrets to hide, false identities or just the
anxieties of being murder suspects in a place where everyone is a murder suspect.
“The Mousetrap” is a variation of the lockedroom mystery, where whoever did the crime has to still be on the premises. Five guests are staying at a remote inn run by a young couple. They all get snowed in. The news in the local papers have all been about a recent murderer. A policeman skis in to warn them that the murderer is among them.
As is often the case with Christie mysteries, the characters’ suspicions of each other can be based on bigotry, prejudice, profiling and base stereotyping in manners that can seem cringeworthy onstage today. Sexism and ageism abound. Wisely, Gay and the cast play into these awkward situations rather than try to dilute or diminish them. What you get is an added level of intrigue. When you don’t trust someone’s assessment because you don’t trust their values, everything gets a little more sinister and mysterious.
There’s humor in “The Mousetrap,” but it comes from the flamboyant, affronted manner in which Christopher Geary plays the young alleged architect named Christopher Wren after the legendary 17th-century architect of the same name, which leads to a lot of jokes; or from how Ali Skamangas snaps her suspenders as Miss Casewell, a character not found in Christie’s original short story who adds tremendous energy to the stage version; or from Greg Stuhr’s authoritative bearing as Major Metcalf. These three are the standout performers, twisting cliches into interesting new people. Jason O’Connell gets his laughs more conventionally, with funny walks and gestures and a loud voice, as the insufferable guest Mr. Paravicini. Nobody plays it completely straight, but Brendan Dalton comes closest as the focused yet youthfully impetuous Detective Sergeant Trotter.
Youth is at the heart of “The Mousetrap.” It’s a plot point — the presumed murderer is 20-something years old, and so are at least half of the folks at the inn. The liveliness of these younger people is also used to contrast with their elders such as the Major and the imperious Mrs. Boyle played by Yvette Ganier, bewitchingly prim and proper. The Ralston couple who run the inn, Mollie (Sam Morales) and Giles (Tobias Segal), appear to have stepped out of a 1930s romance.
The whole enterprise is fanciful, fantasy-filled and old-world. The preshow music is stolid mainstream classical. There’s an impressive snowfall effect that reminds you of what theaters used to conjure up before they relied so heavily on projections. It’s not corny, and though it is having fun with some overblown characters, this production is not making fun of itself.
More murder mysteries are on the way to Connecticut theaters. Westport Playhouse has announced it will be doing “Dial M for Murder” next spring. There’s clearly an audience that craves them and can still be surprised by them. This one ends with an entreaty not to reveal the murderer’s identity to anyone.
“What?!,” indeed.
”The Mousetrap” by Agatha Christie, directed by Jackson Gay, runs through Nov. 6 at Hartford Stage, 50 Church St., Hartford. Performances are Tuesday through Thursday at 7:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m., with 2 p.m. matinees on Oct. 22 and 29 and
Nov. 2 and 5. No evening performances on Oct. 25 or Nov. 2. $30-$100; $20 students. hartfordstage. org/the-mousetrap.