A variety of eclectic characters will be caught in “The Mousetrap” during the Kenai Performers next show, a storied murder mystery set in a snowed-in guest house.<\/p>\n
“The Mousetrap,” director Amy Burton said at a Wednesday rehearsal, is the longest-running stageplay in history — put on in London for more than 70 years. On Wednesday, March 19, the same day as that rehearsal, the show marked its 30,000th performance in London.<\/p>\n
The show is a witty murder mystery, characteristic of its author, Agatha Christie. Burton said it’s a drama where the audience can work to figure out who’s behind the danger at the show’s heart while watching all the characters unravel.<\/p>\n
The show is set in a single common room of a manor, where Mollie and Giles Ralston are opening a guest house and welcoming their first tenants. A snowstorm maroons them inside the guest house — and an inspector arrives on skis to warn of a murderous conspiracy.<\/p>\n
That inspector is played by Raleigh Van Natta, who said the play is “intricate”— with lots of characters who have their own motivations.<\/p>\n
“There’s so many different layers of what people are pretending to be — what they’re pretending not to be, what they’re pretending to know and not know,” he said.<\/p>\n
AnnMarie Rudstrom and Jamie Nelson portray the Ralstons. Rudstrom said the show will keep people guessing until the end — similarly noting that the show features a slew of “eccentric” characters to act against. As the hosts of the guest house, she and Nelson play a more balanced role as they work “to manage all of the personalities and make an honest go of our new business.”<\/p>\n
Nelson said the show is so iconic that he hadn’t initially realized he hadn’t seen it before auditioning. Christie’s work, and “The Mousetrap” itself, is a “famous grounding of the murder mystery genre.” What’s remarkable, he said, is that the show still holds up and influences contemporary works.<\/p>\n
All of the action occurs in an “imposing” set that reaches high into the theater space. The space is filled with doors and exits for characters to dash in and out of, and it features a variety of lights and effects. Burton said it was constructed in only two weeks after the conclusion of the Kenai Performers last show, “Little Shop of Horrors.” Many of the actors, too, had roles in that show and transitioned quickly from the zany musical to the English whodunit.<\/p>\n
Petra Murray, who plays one of the guests, said the show is a fun opportunity to collaborate with great actors — also that it’s stuffed with little hints and details to lead or mislead the audience as they work through the mystery.<\/p>\n
“The Mousetrap” runs two weekends, March 27-30 and April 3-6. Thursday, Friday and Saturday shows are at 7 p.m., while Sunday is a matinee at 2 p.m. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased at kenaiperformers.org.<\/p>\n
Burton said a few local businesses will also be offering special items to coincide with the production, with a drink special at Addie Camp, a burger special at Kenai River Brewing and a cookie special at Odie’s.<\/p>\n
Reach reporter Jake Dye at jacob.dye@cmg-northwest2.go-vip.net\/peninsulaclarion.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The longest-running stageplay in history, the English whodunit challenges audience to unravel the plot. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":493,"featured_media":87555,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[213,215,612],"class_list":["post-87554","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-life","tag-arts","tag-arts-entertainment","tag-theater"],"yoast_head":"\n