I think there will never be anyone who plots more inventively than Agatha Christie did. And I have long considered Theatre Forty to be the perfect theatre company to bring her work to the stage. With The Unexpected Guest, they have scored again with strong acting and impeccable stage craft.
This time, a stranger (Lee Grober as, perhaps, Michael Starkwedder) arrives at a rather inconvenient time. It seems the master of the house, one Mr.Warwick, has just been shot. His wife, Laura (Katyana Rocker-Cook) stands over him with a smoking gun in her hand. An open-and-shut case, right? Think again. Starkwedder devises a complicated alibi for Mrs. Warwick, and soon it appears that almost everyone has a reason to have done him in.
As we march through the list of suspects, the most unlikely seem to be the matriarch, elderly Mrs. Warwick (Eve Sigall) who insists she has not much longer to live, so every reason for murder; and the autistic son, Jan (exquisitely performed by Riley Introcaso), who seems to love guns. Even Warwick’s “man,” (in a subtle performance by Artistic Director David Hunt Stafford) weighs in. But follow the bouncing ball! At every turn, there is more for your suspicions to follow than meets the eye.
When the show premiered in London in 1958, it was deemed to be one of Ms. Christie’s lesser mysteries, but it has stood the test of time as it has aged to become a veritable relic of late 50s fare. Director Warren Davis has opted to emphasize the period with flare, beginning with a murky beginning that contributes to our befuddlement. Theatre Forty’s celebrated standing set, dressed by Jeff G. Rack, is ebullient with a fresh, rich-red background, punctuated with Warwick’s purported hunting trophies and a splendid rifle on display. Period costuming by Michael Mullen contributes to the ambiance. Unfortunately, the opening lighting is (purposely) so murky that it makes it difficult to adjust later on, but the full effect, by designer Derrick McDaniel, covers all the bases, with particular attention to an atmospheric garden. Other design elements — sound by Nick Foran and hair and wigs by Judi Levin — are seamless. Altogether, a wonderful deductive exercise!
The Unexpected Guest, continues Thursday through Saturday at 7:30 pm, Sunday at 2 pm, through April 19th at their Beverly Hills High School location; the Mary Levin Cutler Theatre, 241 S. Moreno Dr., Beverly Hills 90212. For reservations, or subscription information, phone (310) 364-0535 or online at https://www.eventbrite.co/e/the-unexpected-guest-by-agatha-christie-at-theatre-40-tickets-198422566485.
