On the morning of Friday the 13th, the residents of an English country home in the village of Chipping Cleghorn read, in the personals column of the local weekly gazette, announcement of a murder to occur in their home that very evening.
This provides both the story foundation and the title for ''A Murder Is Announced,'' a stage adaptation by Leslie Darbon of a Dame Agatha Christie mystery novel being presented by Dutch Country Players Theatre in Telford PA.
In this crisp production directed by James Kirkwood, there are no really scary things “ just a lot of plot twists and red herrings, as Ms. Christie is known for, to be unraveled at plays end by Miss Jane Marple, impressively played by Lisa Harner.
Playing such an iconic character can be daunting but Ms. Harner handled her turn well.
We meet the characters wondering why would anyone would place such a bizarre ad in the personals column.
Is it joke' A hoax' Or is it true'
These questions bring our characters to the wonderfully appointed Victorian drawing room, designed by Caris Baliles, of Letitia Blacklock (Linda Walsh).
Letitia seems to be a gatherer of lost souls. She has a very diverse group of houseguests in her home: niece Julia (Madison Hart), nephew Patrick (Ray Greenley), childhood companion Bunny (Sarah LeClair), Phillipa (Alexis Ross)- a young widow and lastly, a fabulously dramatic over the top maid named Mitzi (Leah Stern).
The assemblage is rounded out by the nosy neighbor Mrs. Swettenham(Cassandra Hogan) and her son Edmind(Will Nassau).
They must all be present to witness the lights out murder take place at the appointed time with screeching, flashlights, and slamming doors.
Inevitably, we must meet the no-nonsense Inspector Craddock (Bob DeMarco) and his assistant Sargeant Mellors (Christopher Sakelardies).
Of course, we are joined by our Miss Marple to assist as well.
From this rather standard Christie introduction, we take a wild ride to learn about who could have committed the murder, and why. To say more will give too much away!
While this is not the strongest of scripts, DCP and Director Kirkwood have done a fine job of making it enjoyable and entertaining.
Sarah LeClair as Bunny was a virtual one-woman show of facial expression and body characterization. I just loved watching her. She remained solid throughout, showing us a woman who is dismissed as daft but who obviously knows more than we are made aware of.
Leah Stern as the Hungarian maid, Mitzi, gave the other standout performance of the evening. Although deliberately drawn as comic relief, Ms. Stern was spot on with her accent throughout and her brassy entrances and exits and no nonsense expressions made me want to see her more often.
With a large cast show where everyone needs to be on stage at the same time on several critical plot-turning occasions, it can be tricky to stay in character while not speaking.
And, as so often happens in the first Saturday performance after a long week of rehearsals and opening night highs, this show lacked energy in several spots, most noticeably in the larger scenes.
Also, a few characters seemed to jump, almost jarringly, into emotions that were not displayed a moment before.
Neither one of these minor details took away from my overall enjoyment of the production.
DCP generously hosts a Directors Reception with wine and cheese on opening weekend, which was a nice touch for the patrons who attended this performance.
Even though you missed the reception if you did not attend opening weekend, this engaging little show will make for a great evening of whodunit anytime.
"A Murder is Announced" runs through April 27. Online tickets are available at
http://www.dcptheatre.com/ShowsEvents/AMurderisAnnounced.aspx.