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Davis Journal

Find out ‘who dun it’ in Agatha Christie’s ‘A Murder is Announced’

Aug 04, 2022 10:22AM ● By Becky Ginos

CENTERVILLE—It’s Friday the 13th in 1947, and while reading the morning paper, Dora “Bunny” Brunner finds a mysterious ad announcing that a murder is to take place that very evening at 6:30 at Little Paddocks, a Victorian house in the English town of Chipping Cleghorn where Bunny lives with several other house guests. The notice comes as a surprise to owner Lettitia “Letty” Blacklock and everyone else, and no one seems to know who could have placed the ad.

That sets the stage for CenterPoint Legacy Theatre’s production of Agatha Christie’s “A Murder is Announced,” a fun “who dun it” mystery that keeps the audience guessing until the very end. 

 At first, Letty brushes off the announcement as a foolish prank and prepares for a dinner party she has planned for that evening. But as 6:30 approaches the guests start to get nervous and curious friends arrive to see if anything is going to happen. Then at the appointed time just as everyone starts to relax, the lights go out followed by a gunshot that causes utter chaos. When the lights come back on there’s a dead body on the floor. All the guests look at each other in confusion and discover Letty’s ear is bleeding from being grazed by the gunfire.

When the inspector arrives and starts questioning everyone, his suspicions turn to the possibility that Letty was the intended target. Soon he finds that people aren’t who they say they are and the mystery unfolds. After another body drops, the inspector becomes convinced that Letty is in danger and everyone at Little Paddocks is a suspect.

Christie’s well-know character and amateur sleuth Miss Marple inserts herself into the investigation and works with the inspector to turn over clues that might point to the murderer.

Performed in CenterPoint’s smaller theater Leishman Performance Hall, the play’s intimate setting is perfect to make the audience feel like they’re part of the mystery. In the hallway of the theater, small glass bowls are in front of each character’s picture where guests can put a marble in the one they think is the murderer.

The quirky cast of characters are delightful from Bunny (Hillary McChesney), who is always in a state of confusion to the hilarious maid Mitzi (Krislyn McBride) whose stories about escaping Hungary change with every telling. Wanda Copier plays Miss Marple perfectly as the unsuspecting old lady who finds the clues no one else notices while Inspector Craddock (James Boley) is on the case and suspicious of everyone. Letty Blacklock (Marinda Maxfield) rounds out the cast as the owner of Little Paddocks who tries to keep everyone calm in the face of danger. 

From start to finish, “A Murder is Announced” is a lighthearted show filled with mystery and intrigue that will keep everyone guessing about “who dun it.”

  “A Murder is Announced” runs through Aug. 20, Mondays and Thursday – Saturday at 7 p.m. Tickets are $16 and available online at CPTUtah.org or at the box office, 801-298-1302. CenterPoint Legacy Theatre is located at 525 N. 400 West in Centerville.