AND THEN THERE WERE NONE

Mere steps away from the home of the former Ojai Shakespeare Festival stands the Ojai Art Center Theatre. The program states that the building was constructed in 1938 and has housed the likes of Loretta Young, Beau Bridges, and June Allyson, leading one to wonder how the current production of And Then There Were None would stack up. It succeeds remarkably well.

Agatha Christie adapted this classic "whodunit" in 1939 from her own novel. The stage play holds far less complexities than the book, but the story, characters, and inherent suspense come shining through. Director James Castle Stevens gently weaves humor, drama, satire, and excitement with crafty misdirection to tell a story that is entertaining from beginning to end.

The tale opens as the dutiful servants of an island mansion await the arrival of eight guests for a house party. Upon their introduction, the guests quickly size each other up and reveal the essential plot points of the quintessential Christie murder mystery. When a haunting voice delivers pointed accusations about each character's past, we find that none of them have ever met the host of this strange party and there is no way to escape the island. Judge Wargrave (Frank James Malle), the elder statesman on the island, takes control of the room and seemingly tries to restore order. Each of the misfit characters quickly begins to unravel. The notable exception is adventurer and devil-may-care English bad boy Captain Lombard (Andrew David James), who seems undaunted by the shocking circumstances and is steadfast in his determination to capture not only the murderer, but also the heart of diligent secretary Vera Claythorne (Jenna Scanlon). One by one, the unknown thrill killer picks off the trapped prey like an unseen deity playing with so many toys. The eye of suspicion bounces from one character to the next as each death adds to the tension and fear on the island. Along the way, little figurines on a mantelpiece mirror the fate of each doomed guest. The drama climaxes in splendid fashion, eliciting an audible gasp from the audience that, on Friday night, quickly turned to satisfied and pleasant laughter of a story well received.

The set and costumes for this production draw you in from the moment the lights go up, and the cast delivers many fine performances. Among the standouts are Malle’s compelling characterization of Wargrave and the energetic Jonathan Weiser as Anthony Marston. James’ Lombard drives the show with command and energy and Scanlon is terrific as the conflicted and vulnerable ingénue. Any doubt of Christie’s relevancy to a modern audience is quickly done away with here, and murder has never been so fun!

And Then There Were None runs through Feb 26th at the Ojai Art Center Theatre. http://www.ojaiact.org/