Well-dressed people staying in a fancy and isolated house keep getting murdered. No, I'm not talking about
The Traitors, I'm talking about Agatha Christie's novel-turned-play
And Then There Were None, which I'm now convinced was the inspiration for
The Traitors. Watching this gripping and deliciously suspenseful play is a little like breakfast in the castle, wondering who won't enter the room (and the audience reacts almost as big as the cast of
The Traitors does!). As there are fewer and fewer of them left, they all begin to suspect each other of being the murderer, the traitor. Who is it? I won't say (and I haven't watched
The Traitors finale yet so don't tell me), but even though
I had seen this play eight years (and 1000+ shows) ago, I didn't guess who the murderer was. This play is a classic and a lot of fun, even though
the original title is extremely offensive. But if you can put the origins aside, Lyric Arts' production of this classic is well cast and expertly designed and executed.
See it at on their Main Street theater in Anoka through March 22, and don't forget the popcorn!
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| the guests/suspects gather (photo by Molly Jay) |
The entire story takes place on an island off the coast of England, where eight guests (played by Bruce Abas, David Denninger, Nadya Dominique, Davin Grindstaff, Emily Jabas, Drew Reynhout, Matt Saxe, and Brendan Veerman,) are delivered by the daily boat driven by a man named Narracott (Michael Quadrozzi), the only contact with the mainland. The arrive to find their hosts absent, and only a couple of servants (Edwin Strout and understudy Sarah Furniss) to greet them. After some introductions, small talk, and more than a few drinks, a recording is played that accuses all ten current residents of the island of murder, with names and details. It soon comes out that none of them actually know the hosts and were invited under false pretenses. They all have some excuse to explain away the accusation, but it isn't long before one of the ten drops dead, and one of the ten soldier figurines is broken. Soon we're down to only seven left, seeming to follow the lines of the poem printed in the living room. As more and more people get banished from the castle, so to speak, the remaining faithful begin to suspect each other until, as the title says, none are left. Or are they? There's a twist at the end that I didn't see coming (even the second time around), which is the best kind of mystery.*
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| when the lights go out (photo by Molly Jay) |
Lee Hannah Conrads directs the play with momentum and a slowly building feeling of suspense, which the cast expertly embodies. Each character and characterization is unique, and done in a way that they are all suspected traitors and faithfuls at one time or another. The design is key to building the suspense, a beautiful seaside home full of light and colors that invoke the sea, with rotating "glass" doors that open to the outdoors, transforming to something dark and creepy. Several long scenes take place in the dark with only a few candles for light, and the effect is scary and gorgeous. The sound design hints at gentle waves, then turns into a raging storm. And the stress of impending death doesn't stop people from changing into a new stylish outfit every day, just like on
The Traitors. Unfortunately they don't have as much good food to eat; they are reduced to eating canned tongue when the supplies run out. And don't forget to keep your eyes on those little soldiers, as they disappear one by one, mostly without notice. (Scenic design by Justin Hooper, costume design by Zamora S., lighting design by Alyssa Kraft, sound design by Brodyn Byington, and properties design by Kat Walker).
The director notes in the program, "it feels like Agatha Christie and the murder mystery is keeping the American theater afloat," and she's not wrong, judging by the full house on the Sunday matinee. People love a good mystery, and seeing people get punished for their crimes, when there seems so little of that in the real world today. If only Agatha Christie could get her hands on the Epstein files, she'd see that justice was done! In the meantime, enjoy watching the mystery unfold and then be satisfactorily resolved at
Lyric Arts.
