A true “who done it” at Geauga Lyric Theater Guild

“And Then There Were None,” now on stage at Geauga Lyric Theatre, has had a fascinating theatrical history.  The story, originally written in book form by Agatha Christie, one of England’s greatest mystery writers, was published as “Ten Little Niggers.”  That identifier was used because of the inclusion of a British “blackface” poem which serves as a major plot device. 

When it was published in the US, due to concern for political correctness, the title was changed to “Ten Little Indians.” Later, at the insistence of the Christie estate, the title was again changed in 1943.  This time, “And Then There Were None,” the last line of the rhyme for which the book and play were originally named, was selected.

The story centers on ten strangers who have been invited to a get-together on an island off the coast of England.  After they arrive, a recorded voice accuses each of having gotten away with murder.  Due to weather conditions, they are trapped.  One one-by-one they die.  As each person expires, a statuette of little soldier boys on the mantel disappear or break. 

A English nursery rhyme says, “Ten Little Soldier Boys went out to dine; One choked his little self and then there were nine.”  It continues with references to sleeping, chopping up sticks, going out to sea, being hugged by a big bear and getting “frizzled up.”  The death patterns follow the words of the ditty.

Not only the title, but the plot went through transition.  When Christie was first asked to dramatize the book into a play, she refused.   She was aware that the ending would have to be changed as all of the characters in the book die.  She thought that to make the play successful, “I must make two of the characters innocent, to be reunited at the end and come safe out of the ordeal.”  She used the ending of the original rhyme to solve the issue.  It reads, “He got married and then there were none.”  Thus, she felt she could portray a different conclusion on stage than she wrote in the book.  Interestingly, the poem printed in the program does not use the wording to which Christie alludes.

The Geauga Lyric Theater production, under the direction of Deborah Cluts, develops the story and keeps the audience involved in the guessing game of who is killing the guests. 

Though British accents waver, and some of the performers act their roles rather than being the characters, each is believable enough to represent Christie’s ideas.

Strong performances included Bob McClure as Philip Lombard, Civia Wiesner as Emily Brent and Bob Kenderes as Sir Lawrence Wargrave.  

A believable set, effective lighting, and realistic sounds effects all aid in developing the production.

Capsule judgement:  “And Then There Were None,” is one Agatha Christie’s best known mystery books and plays.  The script gets an effective little theatre production at Geauga Lyric Theatre, holding the audience’s attention.

The show runs through November 2 at the Chardon Theatre, 101 Water Street, on the square in downtown Chardon.  For tickets call 440-286-2255 or go to http://www.geaugatheater.org

"The Westing Game" pleases audience at geauga Lyric Theater Guild

Before the curtain went up at Geauga Lyric Theater Guild’s production of “The Westing Game,” the three tween boys sitting behind me were discussing Ellen Raskin’s book, on which the play is based.  They were trying to figure out how the director was going to stage the mystery which takes place in various settings, “too many to put on the stage.”  They decided that the book would be a better movie because of the special effects, such as explosions and disappearances, that “had to take place or the show would ‘suck’.”

“The Westing Game,” also titled “Get a Clue,” is a 1979 Newbery Medal winning novel which has been transformed into a movie and play. The Newbery Medal is awarded by the Association for Library Service to Children for publications aimed at young people.  

The book/play centers on Sam Westing, a wealthy manufacturer, his sixteen potential heirs, and an attempt to solve the mysteries concerning his death.  Was it a murder?  If so, who did it?  And, who will solve the crime and get the inheritance?

The heirs are chosen to live in the Sunset Towers apartments on the shore of Lake Michigan, somewhere near Milwaukee.  They are brought together by Westing with the intent of dividing them into groups of two, each set given some clues, all of which center on the lyrics to “America the Beautiful.”  Each person is given $10,000 to play the game.  This is their inheritance unless they are the one to solve the mystery.  If they are the best detective, they will inherit Westing’s $200 million fortune and become the owner of Westing Paper Products.

Sounds like a book, movie and play aimed at middle school audiences?  It is, and that is both the positive and negative of the script. 

The plusses are that the play is family friendly, the language and plot are simple to follow, there are no objectionable words or situations, and it gives the cast a chance to create many interesting characters.  

The main negative is that the format is written by a book writer, not a dramatist.  The form used is written language.  Spoken and written language have different vocabularies and sentence lengths.  It is often difficult to sound authentic while trying to speak written language instead of dialogue. 

Another problem is that the book format allows for the creation of multi-settings and actions , such as 14 different apartments and a restaurant, as well as explosions, that are nearly impossible for theaters, especially money-strapped community theatres, to create on small stages. 

Considering the limitations of the script and stage space, the Geauga Lyric Theatre production, as directed by Angela Miloro-Hansen, is an acceptable community theatre staging of “The Westing Game.”

The production incorporates some nice video designs by Jonathan Klein, thanks to the cooperation of the Tudor Manor Home in Euclid being opened to the theatre for filming due to the generosity of the Friends of Henn Mansion, a group dedicated to restoration and preservation of the manor.

There is clever use of pictures of the cast of characters around the proscenium arch being lit up as the characters are identified and perform.

There are some good performances in which real people emerge.  Included in these are Cara Battagia as Dani, Meg May as the Judge, and Evan Graham as Theo. 

Some of the cast found themselves acting, rather than creating real people.  Unreal gestures, and affected pronunciations made for problems.  Some of this may have been caused by the script’s creation of unreal characters with little motivations to speak some of the lines. 

Opening night found some of the cast stumbling and forgetting their lines, resulting in a member of the cast feeding the errant cast members their lines.  Cuing on-stage did help the verbally stumbling actor, but it is a frowned upon performance action.

Capsule judgment:  The tweens behind me expressed their satisfaction at the end of the play, as did the large audience who loudly applauded approval for their performing friends, relatives and neighbors. 

“The Westing Game,” with sponsorship by Middlefield Banking, runs through March 30, 2014 at the Chardon Theatre, 101 Water Street, on the square in downtown Chardon.  For tickets cal 440-286-2255 or go to geaugatheater.org