‘The Unexpected Guest,’ a murder mystery based on the Agatha Christie novel of the same name, now playing at Pierson Playhouse through December 16 reminds me, not surprisingly, of a game of Clue. In the beginning, the prospect of a mysterious murder is intriguing. Who killed whom? Where? And with what? Ten minutes in, someone’s dead and I couldn’t be less interested in who did it or why. I just want to pick a murderer, a weapon and a room so I can open up the little card and check to see if I’m right. I don’t care if I win or lose; I just want the game to end. Unfortunately, in ‘The Unexpected Guest,’ there is no secret card that reveals the murderer. If you want to find out who killed Richard Warwick, you have to stay until the end. The play opens with a single gunshot, which kills Richard Warwick. Obviously, the rest of the plot is dedicated to figuring out who killed Warwick and why. Could it be his wife, Laura? His mother? His brother? Or even the unexpected guest, Michael Starkwedder, who arrives just after the murder occurs and encounters a frightened Mrs. Warwick in the parlor. Starkwedder (Christopher Weir) and Laura Warwick (Marybeth Massett) form a fast friendship, and quickly create a ploy to cover the murder. Still, it feels funny. Neither reveals much emotion, despite the giant elephant in the room’a dead body with a bullet in its head. Fortunately, though, like any good board game ‘The Unexpected Guest’ becomes much more amusing when more people/characters get involved. Scene 2 opens on the morning after the murder. Sergeant Cadwallader (Wilson Green) and Inspector Ian Thomas (Jack Winnick) begin investigating the Warwick family and their live-in employees in order to solve the crime. Winnick steals the scene, perhaps the whole show, with his portrayal of the inspector, an old-time detective whose dialogue, delivered quickly and flawlessly, is reminiscent of that in a fast-paced, classic Hollywood drama. While he was onstage, the play remained engaging. His sidekick, Sergeant Cadwallader was also very well cast, and although the part wasn’t huge, Green kept it entertaining. The set, a classic looking 1950’s parlor room, was very well designed and constructed, and no details were left untouched’from the books and candlestick holders on the shelves, to the fireplace tools and trophy animals on the walls. And in the end, I was slightly surprised by the results of the case, and the revelation of the Warwick’s murderer’despite pretending I knew who did it all along. Theatre Palisades presentation of ‘The Unexpected Guest’ runs Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. through December 16 at Pierson Playhouse, 941 Temescal Canyon Rd. Tickets are $16 for adults, $14 for students and seniors on Fridays and Sundays and $18 for adults, $16 for students and seniors on Saturdays. For tickets call the box office: (310) 454-1970.
This page is available to subscribers. Click here to sign in or get access.
