By Jennifer Mustoe
I love Agatha Christie and The Echo’s production of Christie’s And Then There Were None is about as good as it gets. It has interesting characters, thrills, chills, murder, some laughs and in this production, some amazing talent. What more could you ask for?
Director Hillary Straga keeps her performers moving around the beautifully designed stage (Jeffrey Blake.) Because the entire production takes place in the one room, nothing needs to be moved around. In the Echo’s cozy space, this is a good thing. Straga has encouraged all of her actors to round out their characters and it was fun to see the quirks and mannerisms particular to each “suspect.” I was pleased that all actors did veddy veddy well with their English accents, in their varying types. I’m something of an accent snob, so I was happy that each actor used tight, authentic accents. A+, cast!
It’s very hard to write a review about a whodunit because the last thing I want to do is write any spoilers. So I am simply going to give a rundown of each character and let you come see the play to see who lives and who dies and who did the dirty deeds. One small spoiler—people do die in this play. There, I said it. And here’s the plot in a nutshell. Ten people are brought to a creepy mansion on an island and one by one, they start to die. Each death follows the poem of The Ten Little Indians, a rather grisly poem with a variation used for this play.
Matthew Carlin’s Judge Wargrave is deliciously creepy. Everything about him cries icky, oily, superior creeper. Amy Carlin, Matthew’s real life wife (but not in the play) plays spinster, tightly wrapped religious zealot Emily Brent. I loved what these two did with their characters—totally believable and completely delightful—the two most hateful, disagreeable characters in the play, in my opinion. I loved what they did.
Lombard, played by smooth-voiced Ben Hess was one of my favorites. When Mr. Hess has a one-man show, I’ll be the first to see it. His mannerisms, his facial expressions and that silken voice made me root for him to not be The Bad Guy. (But whether he is or not is for you to find out.)
Mariah Bowles plays the secretary Vera. Bowles was darling in this show—sexy, flirty, vulnerable but strong. I loved watching her and she seemed very comfortable in her role.
Christian Lambert’s Blore was amazing! Blore is a blowhard and you know he’s up to something. Lambert’s chuckly characterization was completely believable and charming. Did he do it? I’m not saying.
Dr. Armstrong, played by Timothy Keaton Otto, was creepy in its own way. I wasn’t sure if the good doctor was the bad guy or not (and I’ve seen the movie and listened to this book on CD but I couldn’t remember) but Otto certainly played his character with enough mystery to make me think that Armstrong was a likely suspect.
General Mackenzie, played by Matt Dobson, was absolutely spot on brilliant. Dobson completely milks every scene he’s in. His doddering old man, the rage he displays in one particular scene and the unexpected comedy he has is awesome. One of my favorites in the show.
Rogers, played by Will McAllister is another one that I kept thinking, did he do it? MacAllister has this innocent face and I thought, with that sweet expression and that excellent accent, surely Rogers was the murderer. Was he? Sarah Butler plays Mrs. Rogers with a sassy, spitfire attitude that I loved. Spencer Grierson plays the boatman Narracott, with little time onstage, but looked and acted the part. And no, he wasn’t the murderer or a victim. One eensy spoiler.
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Costumes by Sadie Nagle-Perkins were great. Everyone looked period, and very in character. You have to get a load of what the religious zealot Emily Brent wears. It’s a hoot. Makeup and hair by Megan Brisbee was amazing. Really.
Lighting (Joshua Fawcett) and Sound (Franco Acosta) was great.
The action moved quickly, and though the play was 2 ½ hours long, it flew by. This was one of The Echo’s best productions yet—a tight, enjoyable whodunit. There is nothing too scary for kids maybe eight years old or older to see, but because it’s long, unless you have a child who is really able to sit still, you may want to bring tweens and teens to this one.
Don’t miss this fun, exciting, surprise-ending show. And no, I’m not going to do any spoilers, but seriously, the last scene is really dramatic, with so much physical movement, I got worried—it looked really really real! Yikes!
And Then There Were None
The Echo Theater, 15 N 100 E St, Provo, UT 84606 (801) 358-6623
Performances: Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 7:30pm from April 3 – 18.
Matinee: 2:30pm on Saturday, April 18.
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