Featuring murders, false identities and hidden pasts, “A Murder is Announced” depicted Leslie Darbon’s adaptation of a classic Agatha Christie mystery. This production was directed by Dr. Michael Swanson, who is the director of theatre and dance and an associate professor of theatre.
The play takes place in Little Paddocks, where Miss Letitia Blacklock, her elderly childhood friend Miss Dora Bunner (affectionately known throughout the play as “Bunny”), Blacklock’s distant cousins Patrick and Julia, Phillipa Haymes, a young widow and Mitzi, the housekeeper, all reside. When the play begins, the occupants of Miss Blacklock’s home discover an advertisement in a local newspaper announcing that a murder will take place that night in the house. Later in the evening, as the occupants gather and discuss the ad, the lights go out, two shots are fired and an unknown man is found dead in the middle of the room. Miss Blacklock’s ear is bloodied and there are two bullet holes in the wall next to her head. The man is later determined to be Rudi Scherz, a Swiss receptionist at a spa. Despite her narrow escape, Miss Blacklock is convinced that the shots were an accident and the break-in was simply intended to be a robbery, not a murder.
The next day, Inspector Craddock arrives to investigate the scene of the crime. He finds the witnesses to be less than agreeable, although Miss Marple, who arrived shortly after the incident, is eager to solve the crime along with him.
Later, the group celebrates Miss Bunner’s birthday; however, Bunny complains of a persistent headache and takes aspirin that Miss Blacklock had next to her bed. As they are all about to enjoy the cake called Delicious Death that Mitzi prepared for the occasion, Bunny chokes and dies. Inspector Craddock arrives and determines that her death was caused by the aspirin on Miss Blacklock’s bedside. This furthers his theory that someone is trying to murder Miss Blacklock.
Through careful examination and investigation, the inspector and Miss Marple reveal that Miss Blacklock wrote letters to her twin sister, who died suddenly after undergoing treatments for a goiter. The audience also learns that Patrick and Julia are hiding something. What they are hiding is unclear, although it can be assumed that they are not who they seem to be, as the audience witnesses an intimate moment between the supposed siblings.
In a massive plot twist, the audience discovers that Julia not who she claims to be, and neither is Phillipa. Both were attracted to a large inheritance to which Miss Blacklock was heiress. Soon, Miss Marple and Inspector Craddock devise a plan, which reveals that Patrick, Julia and Phillipa were not the only ones with secrets. Marple tricks Miss Blacklock into revealing that Blacklock is her twin sister, Charlotte. It is revealed that Letitia was the one who died suddenly, but Charlotte took on the identity of Letitia in order to obtain the inheritance and make it seem as though it was Charlotte who passed away. Marple proves this by revealing a scar from treatments for a goiter on Miss Blacklock’s neck. Bunny knew that Charlotte had made this switch but agreed to keep it a secret. However, as she aged and became more forgetful, she began to accidentally reveal
Charlotte’s identity. Scherz had also known the truth about Charlotte, as his spa was where Charlotte received her treatments. In an attempt to hide what she had done, Charlotte arranged for it to look like Scherz broke into the house in order to have an opportunity to kill him. When this was successful, she realized she would also have to silence Bunny. Before Bunny could accidentally reveal Charlotte’s identity, Charlotte poisoned her with the aspirin. Finally, the murders are resolved and the residents, visitors and inspector can enjoy their Delicious Death.
As sophomore Jade Bartlett, who played Miss Blacklock, pointed out, the play appeals to “anyone who likes crime shows or read mystery books growing up.” Bartlett explained that Agatha Christie is hugely popular in England, and the story provides enough plot twists to keep audiences engaged as they try to solve the puzzle themselves. Luke Smith, a sophomore who played Inspector Craddock, commented on the challenges of performing in a mystery play. He said that the nature of the genre allows for a particularly small margin of error concerning the lines. Junior Taylor Luckenbill, who played Miss Marple, agreed and added that every detail that comes up in the lines is vital. Luckenbill also mentioned that subtlety is often key, as being too obvious while hitting on an important plot point will “give it all away.” Despite these challenges, the acting was effective, surprising audiences with the scripts twists and turns at every performance. Overall, the cast and crew put on an exciting and lively production of the classic Christie murder mystery.
