Theater Review: 'The Mousetrap' at Hartford Stage

By Nancy Sasso Janis

Hartford - Hartford Stage is opening their season with a tightly-wound production of Agatha Christie’s “The Mousetrap” Jackson Gay returns to Hartford Stage to direct the classic tale that is celebrating its 70th anniversary in November.

Agatha Christie (1890 - 1976) remains the best-selling novelist of all time. She wrote 66 crime novels, six noon-crime novels and over 150 short stories during her career that spanned five decades. She also penned over 20 plays, including her most famous, “The Mousetrap.” The piece began life as a radio play (written at the request of the BBC for Queen Mary) and it is the longest running play in the world since it opened in 1952.

The contract terms of the play state that no film version can be made until the London West End show has been closed for at least six months. Since it continues to run, no official film has been made.

This is an extremely theatrical production featuring a small group of (often eccentric) characters who assemble at a snowed - in Monkswell Manor.

Costumes designed by Fabian Fidel Aguilar faithfully match the personalities of the various characters. There is a fox stole that enhances the teal ensemble for Mrs. Boyle, a loud purple suit for Mr. Paravicini, and fabulous hats. Carissa Thorlakson provides the perfect period wig and hair design. There is good original music and sound design by Broken Chord. Listen for the notes of the children’s song “Three Blind Mice,” which was the title of the radio play.

The scenic design by Riw Rakkulchon is a work of art in its details. Overall, the “ground plan” of the main room allows everyone to view the scenes on the thrust configuration of this stage. The slightly hidden aisles in this theater allow actors to make sudden (and often surprising) entrances. The Monkswell Manor set is filled with what the director calls “male iconography.” Rakkulchon urged the props department to make everything on the set feel as if it could be used as a weapon, and I can assure you that they succeeded.

Lighting design by Krista Smith enhances the spooky elements and the snow falling outside the large windows.

The director set out to cast Equity actors who “want to have fun, to be in their character and have a sense of the theatrical.” All of the cast members make their Hartford Stage debut.

Sam Morales plays the owner of Monkswell Manor guesthouse, Mollie Ralston. Tobias Segal, who appeared on Broadway in “The Miracle Worker,” portrays Mollie’s husband Giles

Christopher Geary, who earned his MFA at David Geffen School of Drama at Yale, is a delight in the role of Christopher Wren. The first guest to arrive at the hotel, Wren is a hyperactive young man who acts in a very peculiar manner. Yvette Ganier plays Mrs. Boyle, a well-dressed, critical older woman who is displeased by everything she observes.

Greg Stuhr, who has worked at Yale Rep, portrays the straight-laced Major Metcalf, retired from the army. Ali Skamangas covers the role of Miss Casewell, an aloof, masculine woman. Jason O’Connell just about steals the scenes in which he appears as the Mr. Paravicini, an odd man of unknown origin, who appears to be affecting a foreign accent and artificially aged with make-up. Brendan Dalton plays the detective role during the play, Detective Sergeant Trotter.

I appreciated seeing a note from the cast in the printed program that read “Thank you for joining us today. We’re grateful for your support of live theater, and for those of you opting to wear masks during the performance, we thank you for helping to ensure our ability to complete our run.”

“The Mousetrap” is an engaging tale with plenty of comedic elements, some of which immediately precede a surprise, so don’t let down your guard. The murder mystery runs approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes and is presented with one intermission. At the end of the curtain call, the audience is reminded to keep all that they have seen, and especially “whodunnit,” a secret, so that the end of the play is not spoiled for future audiences. My lips are sealed.

“The Mousetrap” continues at Hartford Stage, 50 Church St. in Hartford, through Nov. 6.

Nancy Sasso Janis has been writing theatre reviews since 2012 as a way to support local theatre venues. She posts reviews of well over 100 productions each year. In 2016, she became a member of the Connecticut Critics Circle. She continues to contribute theatre news, previews, and audition notices to local Patch sites. Reviews of all levels of theatrical productions are posted on Naugatuck Patch and the Patch sites closest to the venue. She recently became a contributor to the Waterbury Republican-American newspaper. Her weekly column and theatre reviews appear in the Thursday Weekend section of the paper.

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