FAIRBORN — Wright State Theatre opens its 2022-23 season with Agatha Christie’s iconic murder mystery “The Mousetrap.”
This classic “Whodunnit” runs in Wright State University’s Festival Playhouse from Sept. 23-Oct. 2. Christie, the undisputed Queen of the Mystery Genre, has crafted a suspense thriller with a surprise twist ending — so please keep the secret! “The Mousetrap” is the first stage production of Wright State University’s new School of Fine and Performing Arts.
Perhaps best known for her novels, Christie wrote more than 20 plays, including three in the 1950s that made her the first female playwright to have three productions running simultaneously in London’s West End. “The Mousetrap” has gone on to become the longest running play in Theatre history, with 72 years (and counting) in that original production, which is still running in London. This production will be the first time Wright State has producing one of Christie’s plays since 1977.
“We love being scared,” said Director Jason Podplesky. “There’s something about these murder mysteries that appeals to our sense of fear. They allow us to deal with these scary things from a safe aesthetic distance. ‘The Mousetrap’ is really well done; it keeps you intrigued and keeps you on the edge of your seats until the very end. It’s the stuff of legends. There’s also humor in this; a British drawing room comedy sense about it. Comedy and suspense go together like chocolate and peanut butter, don’t they? It’s sort of the one way you can break that tension so you don’t have to have one continuous arc of tension all the way through the play.”
”The Mousetrap” has scenic design by guest artist Dick Block (associate head of drama at Carnegie Mellon University), lighting design by Wright State Professor Matthew Benjamin, costumes by senior costume design student Carrie Wieland, sound design by James Dunlap, and properties by John Lavarnway. It is stage managed by guest artist Kelly DeLisle.
Tickets can be purchased at the Creative Arts Center box office between 12-4 p.m. Monday-Friday.