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About Cannon Beach gazette. (Cannon Beach, Or.) 1977-current | View Entire Issue (March 10, 2017)
10A • March 10, 2017 | Cannon Beach Gazette | cannonbeachgazette.com In ‘The Mousetrap’ By Nancy McCarthy For Cannon Beach Gazette T he Coaster Theatre Play- house began its season with not only the open- ing of a new play, but a newly remodeled space. With new seats, curtains, carpeting and paint, the Coast- er is celebrating its 45th anni- versary this year. The theater was a dream realized by early Cannon Beach builder Mau- rie Clark, who purchased the Waves Roller Rink and remod- eled it in 1972. The 180 seats installed in the theater 45 years ago came from Lincoln Hall at Portland State University. Although they were refurbished at least once during the past four de- cades, the seats needed repairs, and parts were no longer avail- able, said Patrick Lathrop, the theater’s executive director. The new seats are dark brown and black with gold tones. Gold velvet curtains re- placed the red, water-stained stage and side curtains, and carpeting in shades of tan and chocolate has been installed. “We tried to take the natural wood in the walls of the the- ater and bring out its warmth,” Lathrop said. Lathrop also is excited about the mural that will be painted on the theater’s back wall. Against a dark green background will be a menag- erie of gold animals familiar to the North Coast — elk, deer, salmon and even a bunny or two romping in leaves. The theater’s 45th anniver- sary also is being celebrated by bringing back some of the plays that proved popular in previous years. They include “Barefoot in the Park,” “Steel Magnolias,” “Clue: the Musi- cal,” “Blithe Spirit” and, what was the Coaster’s tradition for many years, “A Christmas Carol.” Opening the season is Ag- atha Christie’s “The Mouse- trap,” which first opened in London in 1952 and has run almost continuously since then. The play will run at the Coaster through April 15. Lon time North Coast direc- tor Susi Brown attributes the play’s popularity to its play- wright. Agatha Christie, said Brown, created characters who are familiar to her audiences. “People can see themselves in her plays or in her books,” Brown said. “She’s quite the trickster, and people like to be surprised.” In “The Mousetrap,” a group of strangers is stranded in a guest house run by newly married couple. When a mur- der occurs, suspicion is cast on everyone there: a spinster with a curious background, an architect who enjoys cooking, a cranky jurist, a retired army major and an uninvited guest whose car overturned in a snow storm. It’s up to a police sergeant, who skis to the man- or, to find the killer who whis- tles “Three Blind Mice.” Since she was asked to di- rect the play, Brown has been sleuthing for clues herself, cleverly played out in Chris- tie’s script through the actors’ movements and dialogue. It has been fun, she said. “I like mysteries.” A frequent director at the former River Theater and own- er of the former Pier Pressure Productions in Astoria, Brown approaches the play academi- cally, probably due to 27 years of teaching literature, theater, speech, dance and art in the Knappa School District. She also has a master’s of fine arts degree in theater direction. SUBMITTED PHOTO BY GEORGE VETTER/CANNON-BEACH.NET As with any murder mystery, everyone in “The Mousetrap” has a secret, and Detective Sergeant Trotter is trying to de- termine what those secrets are. From left, are Mrs. Boyle (Toni Ihander), Mollie Ralston (Emily Dante), Trotter (David Sweeney), Mr. Paravicini (Don Conner), Giles Ralston (William Ham), Miss Casewell (Heather Neuwirth), Major Metcalf (Frank Jagodnik) and Christopher Wren (Tim Garvin). Not pictured is Richard Bowman, who also plays Christopher Wren. PHOTO BY NANCY MCCARTHY Mollie Ralston (Emily Dante) has a heart-to-heart talk with her guest, Christopher Wren (Richard Bowman), who is feeling insecure. She read the play at least five times and wrote notes on it before casting it. She also con- sulted a stack of books about “The Mousetrap” and Agatha Christie. Although she directed the play at Knappa High School and saw performances of it in London and again in Asto- ria, Brown still had “tons of questions” about Christie’s intention. “There were a lot of details,” Brown said. “I had to ask, ‘Why is that happening?’” While she prepares herself thoroughly as a director, Brown still wants her cast to bring their own insight into the characters they play. Her cast includes actors ranging from Nehalem to Washington’s Long Beach Peninsula. All have appeared on the Coaster stage before. Uppermost in her mind is maintaining the surprise for the audience. To do that, the actors must get “underneath” their characters’ multi-dimensional personalities so their respons- es to each other are natural onstage and contribute to the Join us for the SPRING MEMBERSHIP DRIVE at Raise your hand, stand up, count yourself in and make a difference today. Call 503.325.0010 * Click on CoastRadio.org Donate through Facebook Walk in the station at 14th and Exchange, Astoria story being told, Brown said. The audience, then, can enjoy picking up clues of its own. The cast members — both the seasoned and those who are less experienced — have absorbed the personalities Christie developed. They will keep the audience interested — and guessing — until the big reveal, Brown said. Brown literally wears the play on her collar at every rehearsal: She attaches three mouse pins on her jacket or blouse. Her mother also col- lected mouse pins. “I would be completely unnerved if I showed up one day without a mouse,” Brown said. 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