Murder's afoot at Theater Hopkins

From the London theatrical institution, Mousetrap, to countless film and television adaptations of And Then There Were None, Agatha Christie's ingenious, oft-imitated whodunit novels rarely fail to translate into satisfying drama. Her characters -- Hercule Poirot, Miss Marple and the Beresfords -- have each found their way to the screen or stage, with Christie, more often than not, penning the scripts. Her stories, and subsequent success, are marked by two key essentials of drama: the set-up and the pay-off. While Christie's work strips down these tools to their basest forms, she does them brilliantly nonetheless, and nearly every great plot, no matter how abstracted or unintended, follows her example.

This weekend, Theater Hopkins debuted Murder on the Nile, Christie's stage play adaptation of her own novel, Death on the Nile. Nearly at the end of their 81st season, Theater Hopkins proved that their longevity is no happy accident; they, quite simply, put on a great show. It's easy for such familiar stories to become fluff or camp (look at Clue), but in this weekend's show, the question of "whodunit" was always, as it should be, a source of significant tension.

The sole setting is the observation saloon of the luxury paddleboat Lotus, as it glides down the Nile from Shellal to Wadi Halfi. Like most murder mysteries, the setting itself is never as important as its purpose: to trap a handful of innocents and one or two murderers in tight, inescapable quarters. In Ten Little Indians, it was a mansion on a mountain; in Murder On The Orient Express, it was a train. Thus, the exotic Lotus, with its built-in themes of foreign intrigue and Western xenophobia, is an apt location for both plot and subtext.

The roster of potential murderers and murdered includes newlyweds Kay and Simon Mostyn (Catrin Davis and Jonathon Manley Hudson), Simon's jealous ex-fiancZe Jacquline DeSeverac (Heather Lockhard), the unbearable English dowager Miss ffoloit-ffoulkes (Anne Helms Irons) and her beleaguered niece (Molly Moores), the erudite Doctor Bressner (J.R. Lyston), French assistant Louise (Dyana Neal), outspoken Socialist Smith (James Carlisle), staunch moralist Canon Pennefather (Harry B. Turner) and the "Nubian" Steward (Jeremy Blossey). Once the full cast is assembled, the Lotus' paddle begins to churn, and rivalries and alliances twist and tangle as motives and secrets reveal themselves, until finally (gasp!) the foul hand of homicide takes hold of the captive crowd.

Christie's characters are archetypal, but director John Lehmeyer and his cast lent them souls. Lehmeyer ensured that characterization took center stage, and his casting choices were pitch perfect. Turner, Irons and Lyston, the older members of the cast, nail their respective roles with such exactitude that it's hard to imagine them playing anything else. The younger cast members, while appositely suited for their roles, often lacked their coworkers' polish. Moores, Carlisle and Lockhard turned in believable, emotionally weighty performances, but Hudson's energy and conviction went overboard.

Complementing the straightforward but convincing set by Peter Johnson were A.T. Jones' authentic 1930s costumes, which spanned multiple cultures and social classes. Theater Hopkins' tiny seating capacity and intimate stage distance were perfect for this production, since in a Christie story, every detail counts.

Murder on the Nile runs Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays until May 4, with the exception of Easter Sunday, April 20. Shows run at 8 p.m. in the Merrick Barn. Student rush tickets are available for $5 at the door.