As a person who doesn’t read or watch mysteries, the first thing I asked about “The Mousetrap” was, “is it scary?” Though I went into it with mouse-like timidity, I left the theater thoroughly entertained.
“The Mousetrap,” which began as a 30-minute radio play in 1947, is a murder-mystery written by Agatha Christie. Its stage adaptation was first performed in London’s West End in 1952 and still continues today. But more locally, the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis is putting it on from March 15 to May 24.
I have seen my fair share of shows, and therefore my fair share of set designs, but this one might be a top favorite of mine. I walked into the theater and audibly said, “wow” upon seeing the stage. The living room depicted is gorgeous, with the deep blue on the walls just dark enough to set the scene, and the black decorative elements on the ceiling reminded me of Gothic architecture. This, paired with two crystal chandeliers, resembles a scene from the Haunted Mansion at Disney World, which is fitting due to the tragedies that happen in both of those locations.
The show features nine main characters, and the premise is that they are all in different rooms when the murder occurs. The set is just one room — the main room of the house — but there are doors and a staircase visible to the audience. Thus, it is believable that the characters were in the kitchen, their bedrooms or the piano room when “Three Blind Mice” was played eerily with one finger and the victim met their demise.
The lighting, also, was great. When the murder occurs, the lights go out. This is equal parts frightful and exciting; you know what is happening due to the terrifying screams that occur, yet you can’t see anything that will give away the killer’s identity. The victim does a very overdone and comical look over to the door and says, “oh, it’s you!” but the audience does not see who “you” is.
Despite this, the show uses subtle clue-dropping. My favorite (and the only) murder-mystery I’ve seen besides “The Mousetrap” is “Clue,” which does this, too: shows like these will often have a character drop some lore about someone else.
In “The Mousetrap,” Mollie Ralston (Monette Magrath) accuses Mrs. Boyle (Mo Perry) of working as a magistrate in the case that the story revolves around. Therefore, we know that she was involved, but we don’t yet know how Mollie is aware of this.
This is one thing that can sometimes be tricky, and it doesn’t always work well. If we are to get backstory, I personally want to know how it is known by the other characters. In this case, we find out later, so it all makes sense, but when watching, I was confused.
It could be seen as a way to keep the audience watching or to maintain the mystery. Yet, I found myself wanting more information in the moment.
To keep the show interactive, the programs offer a section where the audience can write down clues, victims, suspects, etc. As I had not read the play previously, I attempted to determine “whodunnit.”
At intermission, I thought I had cracked the code, but my idea was too obvious, so of course I had not. But patience is a virtue; if you keep watching, you might figure it out.
What I discovered while watching this is that even if you don’t guess who the killer is, it doesn’t take away from the experience. There are many possibilities the show could end with, so it’s fun to just sit back and watch it all unfold.
I also thought the actors did a great job acting out emotions, which added to the experience of watching the show. Two of my favorites were Greg Cuellar (Christopher Wren), an eccentric young man who brought humor to the show, and the actor who played the killer (but I won’t give away that secret).
For a show with such dark themes, the humor that Wren brought was one of my favorite aspects. Cuellar did a great job delivering the funny lines and showing how afraid he was when he got accused, as well as acting out the weird persona that his character possesses.
I also thought the killer’s transformation was very well done. It is hard to guess who that person is, but once it is revealed, the way they act totally changes, and you wonder how you hadn’t guessed it all along. The tone changes into a… well, murderous one; it’s a great way to end the show and to let the audience know what has happened. Though I haven’t read the play, I can tell that Christie put a lot of thought into the lines, and I have no doubt that these actors portrayed it exactly as was intended.
Due to popular demand, the Guthrie has extended its run of “The Mousetrap,” and my advice is that if you can go, you should. It’s funny and entertaining, and whether or not you guess “whodunnit,” you’ll have a great time deciphering the mystery.
“The Mousetrap” plays at the Guthrie Theater through May 24.
Bridget Schmid can be reached at schm1520@stthomas.edu.
