The Williams Baptist University theatre program will open its 2024-25 season with Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap. The mystery play will be staged on Oct. 31, and Nov. 1 and 2 in WBU’s newly renovated Startup Chapel, with performances at 7:30 each evening.The production will feature seniors Eric Burns, Savvy Garringer and Ronald Hill in their final performances as WBU students. Burns will be portraying the part of Christopher Wren, while Garringer will be appearing as Ms. Paravicini, and Hill will be portraying the role of Major Metcalf.“I feel a little sad that this will be my last play and kind of wish I had the opportunity to perform in more plays,” Burns stated. His WBU debut performance was in last fall’s production of The Romancers. Burns was also a member of the traveling ministry team from WBU, The Cast.“It’s bittersweet to think this is my last play with Mrs. Williams,” Garringer said. “I am also loving that I get to act in one of my favorite plays.” Her first production at WBU was You Can’t Take It With You, and she has been actively involved in WBU plays since then, both on stage and off.“I am happy and sad at the same time,” Hill said. “I am sad that it’s my last one at WBU. I am happy because I know that I am getting to be a part of the first cast to perform on the new stage.” Hill’s debut performance was in Around the World in 80 Days, and like Garringer, has been actively involved since then in both acting and production roles. Hill was also a member of The Cast.In their performances, each actor tries to make a connection with their character, whether it is the first role or the final one. “Christopher Wren is a character you can have fun with,” Burns said. “He is unwilling to grow up and is very childish and a bit odd. He’s always having ‘fun’ and is unpredictable, making him a character I enjoy playing.”“I love how Paravicini is so unserious about most things,” Garringer said of her role. “She is so fun to just get up there and be goofy with.” She added that her favorite line from the play is, “How deliciously macabre.”“With me being the oldest person in the play, I am also playing the oldest on the stage and just being able to have such a role of power who just sits around and observes most of the time, it makes people really suspicious of me if I am the killer…. Am I the killer?” Hill stated.As the finale performance for these three draws closer, Burns reflected on what he would miss most about his time in the WBU theatre: “I will definitely miss the fun and laughs that we would have during practices, even though it made practice longer, it always made it more fun.”Admission to the production is $3 for students and senior citizens and $5 general admission. Tickets can be purchased in advance by calling Melinda Williams at (870) 759-4141 or emailing mwilliams@williamsbu.edu. Advance tickets can be paid for at the door.
WBU is a private, Christian university in Walnut Ridge
Photo attached: The cast of WBU’s production of The Mousetrap, which will be staged Oct. 31-Nov. 2 in Startup Chapel. Showtime is 7:30 each evening.