Two From Wellesley in "The Mousetrap," Snaps in Natick in March

Agatha Christie's "The Mousetrap" has been running continuously in London's West End since 1952, and now comes to Natick--with a couple of Wellesley players in the cast. 

The Center for Arts in Natick (TCAN) hosts the play, a story of a group of strangers staying in a boarding house get stranded in a snow storm (a feeling some Wellesley residents may recognize), they learn the hard way that one of them is a murderer.

But who could have done it? Is it the young newlyweds who run the place, the spinster with a mysterious past, the retired Army major, or the man whose car broke down in the snow? Or, could it be the policeman who arrived on skis just before the murder?

The TCAN performance features Wellesley residents Cathy Merlo, a regular in TCAN's cast since 2004, and Olivia Rizzo, making her TCAN debut. Directed by Framingham’s Faye Harrington and sponsored by MutualOne Bank, this is the second time the players have taken on one of Christie's plays. 

After the play, don't tell anyone who did it. 

Below is the full press release from TCAN:

TCAN PLAYERS PRESENT AGATHA CHRISTIE'S "THE MOUSETRAP"
Cast includes two Wellesley residents

Who is the murderer? And who will be their next victim? These questions have everyone on edge in the TCAN Players production of Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap, which opens Friday March1, for a six-show run at The Center for Arts in Natick. The cast includes Wellesly residents Cathy Merlo and Olivia Rizzo, as well as Wellesley Players board member Adam Sell.

Wellesley resident Cathy Merlo returns to the TCAN stage, where she first performed in Baby, the first TCAN Players productionin 2004. She was most recently in the cast of the 2011 Players production, I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change. Drawn to the theatre after seeing Angela Lansbury in Sweeney Todd, she has performed in more than 30 productions acrossMetrowest, including the EMACT-winning production of Titanic. She is a graduate of Dickinson College with and MPA fromSuffolk University, and is a graduate student career adviser at Babson College.

Olivia Rizzo makes her TCAN Players debut with this production. Her lifelong love ofthe theater includes a number of productions, including a DASH award for herrole as Meg in Little Women. Sheholds a BA in musical theater and dramaturgy from Emerson College and isworking on a Master’s degree. A Winchester native, Olivia has lived in Europeand New Zealand and now lives in Wellesley. She is a high school Spanishteacher and a passionate traveler.

Of a group of strangers stranded in a boarding house during a snow storm, one is a murderer. The suspects include the young newlyweds who run the house, a spinster with a curious background, an architect who seems better equipped to be a chef, a retired Army major, a strange little man who claims his car has overturned in a drift, and a jurist who makes life miserable for everyone else. Shortly after a policeman arrives on skis, the jurist is killed. The policeman probes the background of everyone present, rattling a number of skeletons in the process.

The TCAN Players production of The Mousetrap is directed by Framingham’s Faye Harrington and sponsored by MutualOne Bank. This is the award-winning theatre company’s second Agatha Christie play, following the 2009 production of The Unexpected Guest. 

The “Queen of Crime”, English mystery writer Agatha Christie (1890-1976) is one ofthe best-selling authors of all time. She is best known for her 80 detective novels and dozens of plays, particularly those featuring Miss Jane Marple and eccentric Belgian detective Hercule Poirot. Many of her works have been made into films, including And Then There Were None (1945), Murder on the Orient Express (1974), and Death on the Nile(1978). The Mousetrap, which opened in London in November 1952, holds the record for the longest theatrical run in history.

PERFORMANCE DETAILS: The Mousetrap opens March 1 and runs through March 10. Performances are at 8 pm on March 1, 2, 8, and 9; and 2 pm on March 3 and 10.Tickets are $18 ($16 members) and $9 for students and seniors. Tickets may be purchased at the TCAN box office or by phone (508.647.0097) Tue-Sat noon–6pm; or on line(www.natickarts.org). The Center for Arts in Natick is located at 14 Summer Street, Natick, in a restored 1875firehouse. The theatre is wheelchair accessible. 

WHAT: Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap (play/mystery)
WHEN: March 1-10, 2013
WHERE: The Center for Arts in Natick, 14 Summer Street, Natick
DETAILS: Tickets: $18/$16 TCAN members ($9 students and seniors). Available at the box office, by phone or online at www.natickarts.org. TCAN box office: 508.647.0097 x201.