WCU Stories      September 17, 2019

The 2019-20 Mainstage theatre season gets underway at Western Carolina University as students and faculty from WCU’s School of Stage and Screen present Agatha Christie’s murder mystery, “The Mousetrap,” from Thursday, Sept. 26, through Sunday, Sept. 29, at Hoey Auditorium.

Shows are set for 7:30 p.m. Sept. 26 through Saturday, Sept. 28, with a concluding performance at 3 p.m. Sept. 29.

Christie’s legendary “whodunit” tells the story of a group of strangers who are stranded in a boarding house during a snowstorm, and one of them is a murderer. Among the suspects are the newly married couple who run the house, an architect, a spinster with a curious background and a retired Army major. A policeman traveling on skis stops by the house and probes the background of everyone, rattling a lot of personal skeletons.

“The Mousetrap” has the longest continuous run of any play in history, as it opened at Ambassadors Theatre in London’s West End in 1952 and has been presented in the city ever since. In 1974, the production moved next door to St. Martin’s Theatre.

The WCU student cast includes Kelsey Willard, Ben Reilly, Tyler Garner, Kathryn Oden, Bobby Guenther, Cassidy Knye, Tyler Ledbetter, Jacob Whitlow, Lilly Davis and Ariana Haylock. The show is being directed by Terry Martin, director of WCU’s undergraduate program in stage and screen, and student Ashani Smith is serving as assistant director.

The play contains acts of violence that may be unsuitable for some people.

Tickets are $20 for adults; $15 for seniors, and WCU faculty and staff; and $10 for students. Tickets may be purchased online or at the box office of the John W. Bardo Fine and Performing Arts Center. The box office can be contacted at 828-227-2479.