'The Mousetrap' review: A good mix of mystery and comedy
Monday January 28, 2013 | By:Rikki Cason |
Plays, movies and television shows with a murder mystery theme are something I have always found interesting. Wondering throughout the show “who did it,” deciphering clues in your head and coming up with a suspect adds an extra twist to the normal production.
This is why I was really looking forward to seeing Agatha Christie’s “the Mousetrap,” which was performed at Lockport’s Historic Palace Theatre last weekend.
“The Mousetrap” has been performed continuously in theaters since 1952. The play tells the story of a young couple who recently opened a guesthouse and is welcoming their first set of guests. After getting snowed in, the group learns there is a murderer on the loose and that person is in the house with the guests.
Overall I thought the Palace’s rendition of this classic play was very good. The cast worked well together and many brought humor to their roles, which helped lighten the serious plot.
A small cast of eight, each actor added something to their character and helped make it an enjoyable play. The actors really helped cast doubt on their characters and made the audience think, could they be the murderer.
Nicole Spin, a senior at the University at Buffalo did a very good job in her role as Miss Casewell. Some of the actions she would do while on the stage caused you to continuously watch her to see what she would do next.
Drew Krause also did a very good job at the part of Christopher Wren. He was enjoyable to watch and his interactions with Christian Holdridge, who played Molly Ralston, were cute and humorous. This was Krause’s first performance at the Palace and hopefully he will return in the future on other productions.
Director Tyler Brown of Amherst also did well in directing his first play for the Palace. He is a senior at the University at Buffalo and has performed in shows at the Palace before.
Being a review, one criticism I would have would be the use of the window by the actors throughout the show. Taking place in the middle of winter and hats, coats, scarves and skis playing a large part of the show, one can only guess that it would be very cold outside.
At least on the performance I attended, when an actor would walk to the window, they would act like they were opening it and climb out. They wouldn’t, however, close it behind them. I know if someone went out my window and didn’t close it on a freezing day, I’d be quite irritated and cold. The actors who were still “inside” didn’t react to the coldness.
Though a very small detail, this miss took my attention away from the storyline and focused me on the window in several scenes.
The next performance for the Palace will be “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” April 12 through April 21. The Palace also recently announced “Les Miserables” would be taking the place of “Aida” for their summer musical production July 11 through July 28.
For more information about upcoming Palace shows visit www.lockportpalacetheatre.org.
This is why I was really looking forward to seeing Agatha Christie’s “the Mousetrap,” which was performed at Lockport’s Historic Palace Theatre last weekend.
“The Mousetrap” has been performed continuously in theaters since 1952. The play tells the story of a young couple who recently opened a guesthouse and is welcoming their first set of guests. After getting snowed in, the group learns there is a murderer on the loose and that person is in the house with the guests.
Overall I thought the Palace’s rendition of this classic play was very good. The cast worked well together and many brought humor to their roles, which helped lighten the serious plot.
A small cast of eight, each actor added something to their character and helped make it an enjoyable play. The actors really helped cast doubt on their characters and made the audience think, could they be the murderer.
Nicole Spin, a senior at the University at Buffalo did a very good job in her role as Miss Casewell. Some of the actions she would do while on the stage caused you to continuously watch her to see what she would do next.
Drew Krause also did a very good job at the part of Christopher Wren. He was enjoyable to watch and his interactions with Christian Holdridge, who played Molly Ralston, were cute and humorous. This was Krause’s first performance at the Palace and hopefully he will return in the future on other productions.
Director Tyler Brown of Amherst also did well in directing his first play for the Palace. He is a senior at the University at Buffalo and has performed in shows at the Palace before.
Being a review, one criticism I would have would be the use of the window by the actors throughout the show. Taking place in the middle of winter and hats, coats, scarves and skis playing a large part of the show, one can only guess that it would be very cold outside.
At least on the performance I attended, when an actor would walk to the window, they would act like they were opening it and climb out. They wouldn’t, however, close it behind them. I know if someone went out my window and didn’t close it on a freezing day, I’d be quite irritated and cold. The actors who were still “inside” didn’t react to the coldness.
Though a very small detail, this miss took my attention away from the storyline and focused me on the window in several scenes.
The next performance for the Palace will be “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” April 12 through April 21. The Palace also recently announced “Les Miserables” would be taking the place of “Aida” for their summer musical production July 11 through July 28.
For more information about upcoming Palace shows visit www.lockportpalacetheatre.org.
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