<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1" http-equiv=Content-Type>
<META name=GENERATOR content="MSHTML 9.00.8112.16441">
<STYLE></STYLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY bgColor=#ffffff>
<DIV>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" align=center><EM><B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-style: italic">Great
Lakes’ mystery ‘Mousetrap’ provides its own spoiler<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns
= "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></EM></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Bob
Abelman<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">News-Herald,
Chagrin Valley Times, Solon Times,<o:p></o:p></SPAN></I></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">The
Morning Journal, Geauga Times Courier<o:p></o:p></SPAN></I></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Member,
American Theatre Critics Association <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></I></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">This
review will appear in the <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Herald
</I></SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">on
3/16/12<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><EM><SPAN
style="FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-style: italic"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></EM></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><EM><SPAN
style="FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-style: italic"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></EM></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><EM><SPAN
style="FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-style: italic">There
is no mystery surrounding the success of Agatha Christie’s classic
whodunit</SPAN></EM><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"> <EM><SPAN
style="FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-style: italic">“The
Mousetrap,” now in its 60<SUP>th</SUP> consecutive year of production
</SPAN></EM>at the Ambassador Theatre in London and currently being performed by
Great Lakes Theater at PlayhouseSquare.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">Originally written as a short radio
drama in 1947 by the grand matron of murder mysteries, the full-length stage
play <EM><SPAN
style="FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-style: italic">contains
all the quintessential ingredients for suspense that have since become iconic
requirements for the genre.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></EM></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><EM><SPAN
style="FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-style: italic"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></EM></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><EM><SPAN
style="FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-style: italic">There’s
the group of quirky strangers </SPAN></EM><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">who are fortuitously brought together
to witness, cause, or fall victim to murder most foul.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">Each stranger appears to be as guilty
as the next, despite airtight alibis that will eventually unravel in the hands
of a seemingly incompetent or unlikely crime-solver. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">Their gathering place offers a
l<EM><SPAN
style="FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-style: italic">abyrinth
of dark passageways suitable for fast escapes and the concealment of weapons,
clues and cadavers, with melodrama lurking around every corner.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></EM></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><EM><SPAN
style="FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-style: italic"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></EM></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><EM><SPAN
style="FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-style: italic">Red
herrings swim upstream and spawn. <SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></EM></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><EM><SPAN
style="FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-style: italic"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></EM></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><EM><SPAN
style="FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-style: italic">In
“The Mousetrap,” the action unfolds in a Victorian era </SPAN></EM><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">guest house outside of London, run by
the newly wedded Mollie and Giles Ralston (Jodi Dominick and Paul Hurley). Their
guests arrive, one after the other, on the heels of a strange murder that took
place in London and during a winter storm that holds everyone captive. <SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>It is <EM><SPAN
style="FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-style: italic">just
after World War II, and years of fear, paranoia and depravation have taken their
toll on everyone’s disposition.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>Tension is thick and tempers are short.</SPAN></EM><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">The first guest, Christopher Wren
(Ryan David O’Byrne), is a friendly but highly neurotic and disturbing young
man.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Next to arrive is an
ex-magistrate, Mrs. Boyle (Laura Perrotta), who secretes negativity so pungent
it enters the room before she does.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>She is immediately followed by the stoic Major General Metcalf (Aled
Davies) and the masculine and oddly secretive Miss Casewell (Sara Bruner).<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The last to arrive is an unexpected
guest; an affluent foreigner named Mr. Paravicini (Tom Ford) who claims to have
been stranded when his car hit a snowdrift.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">Just as everyone settles in, a phone
call announces the arrival of Detective Sergeant Trotter (Dan Lawrence), who is
acting on evidence that the killer responsible for the London murder will be
claiming two more victims at the Victorian guest house.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Let the games begin.<EM><SPAN
style="FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-style: italic"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></EM></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><EM><SPAN
style="FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-style: italic"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></EM></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><EM><SPAN
style="FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-style: italic">In
addition to their core components, murder mysteries tend to be wordy affairs
that are laden with exposition to set up the convoluted drama, loaded with plot
twists and turns, and layered with distraction to disguise the mystery’s
eventual resolution.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>“The
Mousetrap” is no exception. <SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>In
fact, given its origins as a radio drama and Christie’s craftsmanship as a
novelist, it is a particularly wordy play.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></EM></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><EM><SPAN
style="FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-style: italic"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></EM></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><EM><SPAN
style="FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-style: italic">The
professionals at Great Lakes Theater address this reality in several ways, some
of them successful.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></EM></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><EM><SPAN
style="FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-style: italic"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></EM></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><EM><SPAN
style="FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-style: italic">Because
this troupe of performers is well-schooled in all things Shakespeare—GLT’s
previous production was the wonderful “The Taming of the Shrew” and its next
will be “Romeo and Juliet”—the volume of verbiage in this play is spoken
swiftly, eloquently, and with great clarity.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Each actor creates a vivid and
intriguing character while capturing all the play’s nuance and suspense at a
steady clip.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></EM></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><EM><SPAN
style="FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-style: italic"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></EM></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><EM><SPAN
style="FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-style: italic">Less
effective is director Drew Barr’s big-picture approach to the material, which
attempts to bring novelty to this old chestnut by embellishing its radio drama
roots and engaging the audience’s imagination accordingly.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></EM></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><EM><SPAN
style="FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-style: italic"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></EM></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><EM><SPAN
style="FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-style: italic">Rather
than creating a realistic looking rural manor, the performance space is as
vacant and sterile as an old-time radio broadcast booth.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>When actors exit the stage they casually
reappear and take a seat in a chair as if awaiting their next cue.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Daniel Kluger’s eerie sound effects,
such as the echoic creaking of ancient pipes, add the ambiance of an on-air
radio program.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></EM></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><EM><SPAN
style="FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-style: italic"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></EM></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><EM><SPAN
style="FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-style: italic">These
things actually work as dramatic devices.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>What does not is a massive, steaming set piece toward the rear of the
stage that resembles the guts of a radio through which characters occasionally
come and go.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>At several points in
the play, radio broadcasts themselves serve as the play’s narrative, including
an odd moment when Detective Trotter offers directives into a standup microphone
that are relayed through a radio.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>These things seem to place style over substance.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></EM></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><EM><SPAN
style="FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-style: italic"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></EM></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><EM><SPAN
style="FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-style: italic">At
the end of the play the actors ask that the audience never reveal the identity
of the murderer to others, but it is this production’s effort to bring something
new to Christie’s classic that serves as the spoiler.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Still, this is an intriguing,
well-performed production of a very well written murder
mystery.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></EM></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><EM><SPAN
style="FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-style: italic"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></EM></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">“The Mousetrap” continues through
March 25 at PlayhouseSquare’s Hanna Theatre in downtown Cleveland.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>For tickets, which range from $15 to
$70, call 216-241-6000 or visit <B><A href=""><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: normal"><FONT
color=#3b5998>www.greatlakestheater.org</FONT></SPAN></A>.<o:p></o:p></B></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p><FONT
face=Calibri> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P></DIV></BODY></HTML>