Quote of the Day: “The Mousetrap” by Agatha Christie is the longest running play in the world. Opening on the West End in London in 1952, interrupted only during the pandemic in 2020, it has hit its 30,000th performance! No film adaptation is allowed as long as it is running on the West End. 

Agatha Christie herself couldn’t predict the longevity of her most famous play. According to her memoirs, she said it would last eight months, tops. She gifted her grandson Mathew Prichard the rights for his 9th Birthday. Talk about a gift that keeps on giving! At the post-play discussion, the actors talked about what they think gives this play such lasting power. The answer, in short, is the incredible cast of characters, each unique and fun to play, and they all have secrets. Of course, Christie’s set-up gives the play added suspense. They’re all trapped in an old manor house during a blizzard. Everyone is seemingly a stranger, and a couple of uninvited guests show up. People seem to have unresolved issues and mysterious connections to each other. This is another story by Christie where she shows that your past can come back to haunt you.

I am a huge Agatha Christie fan, and The Mousetrap is my favorite play. I have a personal connection to it since I was in a production of it in high school, playing Mollie Ralston. Apparently, the conditions for producing the play are different in England than in the USA. Lucky for me. I’ve also seen a community theater production of it, so I’m not new to the story. And, even though I know whodunnit, I’ll go again and again to see it. It’s the characters that drive the story, their interactions, their secrets, and of course, the creepy old manor house that they’re all trapped in during a snowstorm. It has all the ingredients of a scary good time!

The cast of The Mousetrap by Agatha Christie, on stage at the Guthrie Theater thru 5/18/25. Photo: Dan Norman

Director Tracy Brigden has assembled a dream team of actors. Monette Magrath plays Mollie Ralston. She and her husband Giles, Peter Christian Hansen, have inherited an old manor house in England and turned it into a bed and breakfast. The show opens with them preparing for their first guests. The story is firmly set in the 1950’s, post World War II England, where they’re still recovering from rationing, scarcity of supplies such as coal, and suspicions of outsiders run high. Although Mollie, in particular, seems a little too trusting. Mr. Paravicini gives her a word of warning, “You and your husband must not be too trusting.” She seems surprised that she should have asked for references. Hmm.

Matthew Saldivar plays the surprise guest Mr. Paravicini. He shows up with the story that his car got stuck in the snow, and no, he doesn’t need any help bringing in his bags. He’s a foreigner with secrets and seems to be watching everyone. Greg Cuellar plays the nursery rhyme loving, and singing, Christopher Wren. He seems a little too easy going and eager to help, especially in the kitchen. Pearce Bunting plays Major Metcalf, a stern and observant guest. His service during the war has given him a worldly outlook. Mo Perry plays a cantankerous old Mrs. Boyle. Emjoy Gavino plays Miss Casewell, a woman with a great sense of adventure, a pilot, who likes to keep to herself. Matthew Amendt plays Detective Sergeant Trotter who skis up to the manor in search of a killer, giving the other guests a heightened sense of danger. 

Matthew Saldívar (Mr. Paravicini), Peter Christian Hansen (Giles Ralston), and Monette
Magrath (Mollie Ralston) in The Mousetrap by Agatha Christie, on stage at the Guthrie Theater thru 5/18/25. Photo: Dan Norman

Scenic Designer Walt Spangler gives the old manor house just the right amount of creepiness. It’s at first, a lovely historic mansion, with a fireplace, two sets of stairs going up, several doors coming off the sitting room, where all the action takes place, and dead animal antlers hanging on the walls. He includes some terrific giant paintings and two chandeliers, old-fashioned furniture, and a window to show us the imminent blizzard and feeling of being trapped inside. Exquisite costumes designed by Susan Tsu. Excellent mood lighting and sound by Rui Rita and John Gromada. 

You can see Agatha Christie’s most famous play, The Mousetrap, at the Guthrie Theater through May 18, 2025. I’m already planning a visit back to see it again with another person who’s never seen it before. 

Although no film adaptation of The Mousetrap has been allowed, a film called See How They Run, written by Mark Chappell and produced by Damian Jones and Gina Carr came out in 2022. I saw it on a streaming platform and loved it. The premise is that a murder happens in London on the set of the famous play. The cast, crew, and other people associated with the theater are all suspects. 

Go. Create. Inspire!

Journaling Prompt: Have you seen “The Mousetrap?” Are you good at guessing whodunnit before the end of a play or story? I read and watch murder mysteries all the time, and I’m still surprised most of the time! What are your favorite murder mysteries?