WILLIAM MOHAN
Special to The Leader
A group of Fredonia students came together and performed an interactive rendition of Agatha Christie’s “And Then There Were None” in McEwen Hall last weekend. The performance consisted of suspense and an occasional bout of humor, mostly from the audience.
“And Then There Were None” sparked a renewed interest for Christie’s story, as well as interactive theater as a whole. Joshua Harris, senior theatre arts major, whose passion for the material as well as the diligence and hard work of his cast members, made the show possible.
This rendition of the novel-turned-play was Harris’ brainchild.
“I fell in love with this play when I saw it when I was in high school, and I wanted to do it for a long time,” he said.
That time certainly arrived, and his persistence paid off. All 11 cast members gave an excellent portrayal of their listed characters. The play, based off of Christie’s mystery novel, never left the audience members with a dull moment.
Harris and theatre arts sophomore Liz Church-Peters elaborated on their respective roles. Harris described his character, Dr. Armstrong, as “a very emotional jittery fellow” who “ironically specializes in nerve cases.”
Church-Peters described Emily Brent as a “middle age spinster,” who “is very, very religious and she helps to apply some tension between the main characters.”
Other performers for the evening were Allisa Butlak (Fred Narracott), MeMe Lawrence (Vera Claytone), Nicholas Williams (Judge Wargrave), Liz Keville (Mrs. Rogers), Henry Rozenberg (Captain Lombard), Jennifer Urda (Ms. Wilhelmina Blore), Brett Hayes (General John Gordon McKenzie), Maxwell Smith (Anthony Marston) and Ryan Norton (Mr. Thomas Rogers).
What Harris described as the “ability to step into somebody else’s shoes for a while” was reflected off of each of the cast members, and their performances were stellar.
It also provided a fitting podium for inspiring knowledge of Christie’s original source material.
“I thought it was really well done,” said history sophomore Greg Pinto. “I really had no idea what was going to happen, and it kept me on my seat for the whole time.” And for someone who hadn’t heard of the title prior to the performance, Pinto said, “If I can, I would read the book.”
He elaborated that he would attend more interactive theater if news of it blew his way. That alone drives home the tremendous impact this rendition of Agatha Christie’s classic work had on the audience and suggests what could possibly be down the road for influencing a new generation of fans.
This was all testimony to what Harris credits to an “ending so ingenious” and “writing really well-written.” And, after seeing the play’s outcome, the creators and the Fredonia art and theater community couldn’t agree more.