By Hailey Spaeth ’17, Arts Editor
And Then There Were None thoroughly surprised me. During murder mysteries, I am either a) very bored, or b) very scared. This play was anything from boring; the cast, crew, and director Lisa Bodollo did a wonderful job balancing the dark plot line of And Then There Were None with the light humor needed to go along with a high school production. This play is packed full of excitement, lasting from the first 10 minutes until the final bows. Although this play includes some dark themes, I’m going to assume that it wasn’t scary for the majority of the audience (me excluded).
The play began with sophomore Haley Vaughn singing in a Capella the rhyme “10 Little Indians.” This rhyme is about 10 Indians dying one by one, each in new and creative ways. This rhyme drives the plot line throughout the play. As she solemnly sings, various Native American dancers emerged from the darkness and began to perform an interpretive dance. At first I was confused, because plays don’t usually have dancing or singing, right? Then I was creeped out, but eventually I began to enjoy myself. This was in essence my range of emotions throughout the play. The cast provided its audience with just the right amount of humor, seriousness, and just plain scariness.
The play begins with 8 guests arriving at a mansion on Indian Island, owned by Mr. and Mrs. Owens. Mr. and Mrs. Rogers, played by Nick Jaccaci ’18 and Kaylin Hoffman ’17, work at the house and help to receive the guests. Only, the Owens’s aren’t actually at the house, and the last boat has left for the night. It’s a classic horror plot line. People begin to get killed off, one by one, following the rhyme written on the left-hand wall. Each time someone is about to be killed, a figurine falls down off the fireplace or gets broken. The plot line is a tad predictable (I was able to tell who the killer was from the very beginning). However, the characters and the actors that played them made this show a joy.
While the characters were well played, they also served to confuse the audience a bit. Each character had their own suspicions about who was really behind the killings, leading the audience to believe that anyone could have been behind it. In fact, the whole play is very confusing, because the characters are trying to figure out who is killing everyone while the audience is simultaneously trying to figure out who is killing everyone. The characters are blaming one another and constantly getting into disagreements. Particularly entertaining were Vera Claythorne, Mrs. Owens young secretary, and Emily Brent, a ruthlessly religious nun. Played respectively by Anna Beyette ’17 and Maggie Miller ‘17, the two were constantly down one another’s throats. Brent’s comments about Vera’s flashy attire and Vera’s astonishment at Brent’s lack of empathy provided for much conflict between the two as the play progressed.
Each character had their flaws, making each look suspicious and likely to be a killer. Philip Lombard, played by Frank Grossi ’16, claimed to have murdered 12 natives, and carries a knife around with him. Teja Atluri ’16 played William Henry Blore, an animated police investigator who lied about his identity early in the visit. General John Gordon Macarthur, played by Sam Jaccaci ’19, sent one of his lieutenants to his death bed years ago, because he believed this lieutenant to be involved with his wife. As you can see, this is not a wholly innocent bunch. As the play progresses, more and more people die and the characters begin to blame one another and mislead the audience along the way. The ending features a marvelous scene involving Beyette, Grossi, and Carmelita Mays ‘16, who played Judge Wargrave. A strong and believable performance from all three actors proved to be an amazing ending to the show.
All in all, the play was a success. The dancing from Middle and Upper School students throughout the play added a new twist to this murder mystery. The scenes were well-executed and the characters were interesting and varied. I don’t think I’ve ever actually been on the edge of my seat before, but this play did the trick. I was pleasantly surprised, especially because the night I attended was still technically a rehearsal for the cast and crew. There were none of the issues or kinks that are usually apparent in a final dress performance. I expected it to be well done, but the ease with which the performance was done spoke to the professionalism of the directors, cast, and crew. Congrats to everyone involved for a highly successful opening to the 2015-16 theater year.
Image Source:
http://www.agathachristie.com/christies-work/stories/and-then-there-were-none/193
