The Williams Baptist University Theatre Department is staging Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap Oct. 31-Nov. 1. The mystery classic will mark the debut performance in WBU’s recently renovated Startup Chapel.
The play, directed by Assistant Professor of Communication Arts Melinda Williams, takes place in London in 1952. Five guests find themselves in a newly opened bed and breakfast, where they are trying to keep warm during a blizzard. Unexpectedly, a man shows up at the doorstep of the hotel to inform them that there has been a murder nearby, and they are all suspects.
The Mousetrap premiered at Nottingham’s Theatre Royal on October 6, 1952, and is the longest running play in history, being performed in London still today.
The WBU cast includes: Molly Tabor and TJ Bedgood as the Ralstons, the owners of the bed and breakfast; Eric Burns, Kendal LeQuieu, Ronald Hill, Macy Miller and Savvy Garringer as guests stranded in the snow; and Kade Carter as Detective Sergeant Trotter who investigates the murder.
The dates are Oct. 31, Nov. 1 and 2 at 7:30 p.m.General admission is $5 and $3 for students and senior citizens. Tickets can be purchased in advance by calling (870) 759-4141or emailing mwilliams@williamsbu.edu. Tickets purchased by phone or email can be paid for at the door.
Startup Chapel has hosted WBU Theatre Department productions for decades, but the venerable site has undergone a $1 million makeover during the past year, which includes theater seating and an expanded stage. The chapel will be formally dedicated during WBU’s Homecoming Nov. 9, but the play will mark the first event since the renovation was completed.
Williams is a private, Christian university in Walnut Ridge.