The Mousetrap: Little Theatre of Savannah

The Little Theatre of Savannah, Savannah's oldest theatre group, presents Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap at the Seaboard Freight Station Theatre March 15-30. The piece, quintessential community theatre melodrama, has been performed with gusto and is an excellent example of ensemble playing at its best.

Allow me to say that, in his directorial debut, Mark Rand has managed to create an excellent sense of community among his players. Indeed, the ability to create a coherent ensemble is one of the prime skills required of a director, and it is one that Mr. Rand has performed ably. Further, The Savannah Dramaturgy applauds this activity, as it will be one of the first steps towards an indigenous and sustainable theatre community in Savannah.

As stated above, the script is classic community theatre melodrama. Ms. Christie manages to create a fairly suspenseful story, and yet there is little emotional depth, or even unity to the plot at the end of the day. The tale careens from beginning to end and attempts to take in concepts as wide as marital infidelity, murder, trickery, estranged families, and simple bad manners without treating any of them deeply at all. Further, the piece is not resolved by any real aspect of the plot, but by a suddenly revealed deus ex machina at the very end. While such pieces may be fun from time to time, I feel that Savannah would be better served by other fare. This is not to say that I am particularly opposed to melodrama, but there are better, and simply more unified melodramas. The works of Lillian Hellman, or many of the 19th Century American melodramas, such as Metamora might be helpful here.

A weak script, especially in the community theatre, places the burden of carrying the performance all the more on the actors. And, as is often the nature of community productions, they are often not up to carrying the extra weight. This production was marked especially by unfilled pauses. The ones coming from Giles Ralston (Brent Feasel) often seemed interminable in length and copious in number, and such pauses were quickly emulated by most of the cast to one degree or another.

However, this again goes to the nature of community theatre, and the state of theatre in Savannah generally. Given its amateur basis, all of these people have day jobs, please remember, actors cannot focus the same attention on their roles as professional, or even semi-professional actors can. As such, The Savannah Dramaturgy, issues a call to theatres, theatre supporters, and the cultural institutions of our city to help financially support our theatres.

Further, one can see in the set a certain lack of attention to detail that further bespeaks a lack of time on the part of our practitioners. Though the main room of the Monkswell Manor Guest House is ostensibly wood panelled, the set lacks faux finishing or painting detail to truly create the illusion, particularly in the intimate space of the Seaboard Freight Station. Again, such detail is a side effect of a group of artists who are able to spend their time focusing on their shows, as opposed to the myriad other concerns of the nine to five.

Though I point out limitations, this should not be seen, in any way, as a condemnation of the performance. Indeed, I find the ensemble effect, where even the flamboyant Chris Wren (Jeff Fuell) and oily, continental Mr. Paravicini (Jeroy Hannah) manage to remain on an equal footing with their more mundane counterparts, truly worthy of applause.