Who dunnit? Not even the cast of The Unexpected Guest knows!
contributed by Beverly van Joolen
The first note Director Richard Atha-Nicholls offered his cast, in his charming British accent (how apropos), was... "Don’t read the end!" So the cast of The Colonial Players’ opening season show have spent the last eight weeks in suspense, wondering and waiting to discover which one of them killed Richard Warwick.
The Unexpected Guest is one of Agatha Christie’s later plays, and may have been one of the last plays she wrote specifically for the stage, preferring to adapt existing novels and stories instead. The show is also less frequently produced than some of her more well-known scripts, but it’s a gem. From the ghostly moonlit opening to the jaw dropping finale, Dame Christie’s tale of murder in the manor will keep you guessing. Of course, what’s a good mystery without the perfect setting? And Atha-Nicholls and his set designer, Doug Dawson, have taken great care to create just that, the perfect backdrop for murder. Two weeks before opening night, the theatre has been turned over to Dawson and evidence of his attention to detail are everywhere. Construction is well underway with the floor freshly painted and two newly built pedestals placed strategically around the stage. When questioned about their use in the show, chief set builder Dick Whaley got a twinkle in his eye and announced - big game trophies!
A suspicious turn of events, but no real mystery there, the murder victim was an avid, and some say even an obsessive hunter. No problem. When Dawson began to ask around for big game trophies to decorate Warwick’s study, he only had to look up the street; to the State House, in point of fact. Ah, now there’s a mystery in the making. Who would suspect, thousands of miles from Africa, in a quaint bayside village such as historic Annapolis, somewhere in the very halls George Washington walked, lurked an intrepid safari hunter! The facts speak for themselves, inspector, for there stand the pedestals upon which the evidence will rest. But this writer is not telling tales. To find out who our mysterious, sometimes khaki-and-pith-helmet-wearing local hunter-politician is, and to learn who murdered poor Richard Warwick and why, come join the cast and crew for an evening of mystery and mayhem.
The Unexpected Guest runs from September 16 - October 8, 2011. Show times are Thursday—Saturday @ 8pm, Sunday matinee @ 2pm. There will be one Sunday evening performance September 25 @ 7:30pm. For more information on ticket options, including the 10-Show Flex Pass, Season Subscriptions and buy-one-get-one-half price specials, contact the Box Office at (410) 268-7373. Quills up! 
