Medfield man to appear in Agatha Christie's "The Mousetrap"

TCAN PLAYERS PRESENT AGATHA CHRISTIE’S “THE MOUSETRAP”
Medfield resident to appear in production

Who is the murderer? And who will be their next victim? These questions have everyone on edge in the TCAN Players production of Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap, which opens Friday March1, for a six-show run at The Center for Arts in Natick. The cast includes Paul Collins of Medfield.

This is Paul’s second appearance with the TCAN Players, having debuted as Moriarty in the 2012 production of Sherlock Holmes: The Last Adventure. Growing up in Saxonville, he spent much of his childhood in the Shopper’s World Cinema and the Natick Drive-In. In the past five years he has appeared in many area productions, including Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Needham Community Theatre); Sugar Bean Sisters (Pawtucket Community Players), Urinetown and Rough Crossing (Walpole Footlighters) and Love's Labour's Lost (Gazebo Players). A musician as well as an actor, Paul lives in Medfield.

Of a group of strangers stranded in a boarding house during a snow storm, one is a murderer. The suspects include the young newlyweds who run the house, a spinster with a curious background, an architect who seems better equipped to be a chef, a retired Army major, a strange little man who claims his car has overturned in a drift, and a jurist who makes life miserable for everyone else.Shortly after a policeman arrives on skis, the jurist is killed. The policeman probes the background of everyone present, rattling a number of skeletons in the process.

The TCAN Players production of The Mousetrap is directed by Framingham’s Faye Harrington and sponsored by MutualOne Bank. This is the award-winning theatre company’s second Agatha Christie play, following the 2009 production of The Unexpected Guest.

 The“Queen of Crime”, English mystery writer Agatha Christie (1890-1976) is one ofthe best-selling authors of all time. She is best known for her 80 detective novels and dozens of plays, particularly those featuring Miss Jane Marple and eccentric Belgian detective Hercule Poirot. Many of her works have been made into films, including And Then There Were None (1945), Murder on the Orient Express (1974), and Death on the Nile(1978). The Mousetrap, which opened in London in November 1952, holds the record for the longest theatrical run in history.

PERFORMANCE DETAILS:The Mousetrap opens March 1 and runs through March 10.Performances are at 8 pm on March 1, 2, 8, and 9; and 2 pm on March 3 and 10.Tickets are $18 ($16 members) and $9 for students and seniors. Tickets may be purchased at the TCAN box office or by phone (508.647.0097) Tue-Sat noon–6pm; or on line(www.natickarts.org). The Center for Arts in Natick is located at 14 Summer Street, Natick, in a restored 1875firehouse. The theatre is wheelchair accessible.

WHAT: Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap (play/mystery)

WHEN: March 1-10, 2013

WHERE: The Center for Arts in Natick, 14 Summer Street, Natick

DETAILS:Tickets: $18/$16 TCAN members ($9 students and seniors). Available at the box office, by phone or online at www.natickarts.org.  TCAN box office: 508.647.0097 x201.

PHOTO: Paul Collins of Medfield (upper left) joins the cast of Agatha Christie's "The Mousetrap" in Natick, March 1-10.