Review: AND THEN THERE WERE NONE at Everyman Theatre

Agatha Christie has long been a fixture in our house for her fascinating and endlessly entertaining mysteries. She has transfixed reading and viewing audiences for decades, and her work has been presented in everything from books and plays to TV and movies, and it has inspired countless imitations. I can’t think of any of her writings that have ever failed to capture me with their juicy plot twists and turns, not to mention her vividly drawn characters. And at Everyman Theatre, the current production of And Then There Were None is an excellent addition to her murderous coterie of crimes, this time committed by the mostly stock company of creatives at Everyman in this version based on her original 1939 book.

Vinny Lancisi, Founder and Artistic Director of Everyman Theatre, has built the company’s reputation with area viewing audiences by presenting outstanding theatre, and this production will add to the impressive repertoire of plays that have graced the stage for more than 30 years. The theater has grown into a cornerstone of Baltimore's arts community, known for its dedication to high-quality productions and a strong connection to the local community. Lancisi is brilliant in seeding his company with some of the most talented theatre folks in the area, or any area for that matter. It’s no wonder that the group now on stage is quite well-suited to this level of drama.

    Everyone knows that many a great script has been sunk by slip-shod tech and production values. Happily, nothing could be further from the truth concerning the show I saw this week. Noah Himmelstein’s direction shows a studied and well nuanced approach to this material. In characters that occasionally straddle the line between camp and cartoon, he wisely minimizes the histrionics, allowing the actors room to stretch without ever going too far astray. The entire production has a totally professional feel visually as well as audibly. Paige Hathaway’s set design is rather curiously understated for an island house off the coast of England but works well in the beautiful theatre. Costume designs by David Burdick did raise one question for me – why did the character of Vera wear the same dress the entire production? Everyone else seemed to change to appropriate costumes with the changing scenes. Odd, that. Otherwise, the costumes were lovely. I particularly liked Dr. Armstrong’s rather severe outfits. Sound and light design can be particularly tricky to get right, but when they hit, it makes all the difference. And Sun Hee Kil’s sound design hits the mark every time. Storms, under-scene music at just the right sound level, balance of actors’ voices to the acoustics, all of it done with just the right touch. And one of the most unsung heroes of any production is the lighting designer. Harold F. Burgess deserves a special nod of appreciation for his terrific, detailed and mood setting lights. The backdrop formed by an almost stage wide screen that captures the nuances of day to night, with stops along the way for late afternoon and most impressively the twilight blue that I have never seen accomplished with such skill. Although no music director is credited (it’s frequently the director who selects the mood music to underscore the production), whoever did it chose exceptionally supportive background music, suspenseful and mood enhancing.

   With a cast of 10 outstanding and accomplished actors, it would be hard to pay proper tribute to each of them, but rest assured there were no weak links in this company. Everyman boasts an impressive group of resident company members, each of them terrifically skilled. Mastering the difficult British accents, handling the physical demands of the piece, and maintaining the pace set by the director, they all are spot-on in their handling of the material. I was on the edge of my seat for most of the story, once the murders started coming fast and furiously. In singly out any of the actors, I mean absolutely no disrespect to any of the others – they each deserve reams of praise. But let’s focus on a couple, because it’s a review after all, and it’s my job to tell you what I liked (everyone) and what I didn’t (no one.)

I thought James L. Johnson was awesome as the General, especially in his brief soliloquy about his late wife’s infidelity. With just the right amount of bluster and blather, he holds the audiences attention quite well.

    Helen Hedman and Bruce Randolph Nelson as the caretakers, Mr. and Mrs. Rodgers, are perfectly cast. Her cockney and his Britain-in-service accents were well done. Benairen Kane, James Whalen, Megan Anderson, Deborah Hazlett,and Tony Nam were all well cast, turning in strong and sturdy portrayals of characters familiar to Ms. Christie’s legions of followers.

Hanna Kelly and Danny Gavigan portray what comes closest to lead characters Phillip Lombard and Vera Claythorne. Accomplished and professional, they both stay firmly rooted in their characters, never letting their grip slip on the dialogue or the action of Christie’s story. Physically appealing, clearly well-trained, and evidently well-rehearsed, there is not a note that doesn’t land solidly from either of them.

I’ve seen 10 Little Indians or And Then There None multiple times. I didn’t know until I did a little research that our esteemed playwright and author was so racially insensitive that the original title of her book before it became a play and multiple movies, was Ten Little N----s. Yes, that n-word. even the name of the island in the story originally used the same offensive term. I’m shocked and disappointed but I will chalk it up to the racial ignorance of a British subject who really should have known better. In America, publishers refused the original title, changing it to 10 Little Indians (only marginally less offensive.)

But lucky for us, Everyman Theatre’s production spares us that distasteful title in favor of the current one. And what is on stage is an outstanding production of a totally enjoyable theatrical piece. My husband and I have spent many a wonderful evening in the presence of Agatha Christie’s body of work, from Poirot to Marple and lots in between. Do yourself a favor and go see a good old fashioned murder mystery with a couple of surprises. You’ll never guess ‘who-done-it’!

And Then There Were None runs December 1 – January 5 at Everyman Theatre, 315 W Fayette St, Baltimore, MD 21201, for tickets and information, visit Everyman Theatre’s website.

   

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