In typical Agatha Christie form, it’s two hours of twists, turns, surprises and more turns.
The Island Players opened its 70th season with a bang, literally, with a presentation of “The Unexpected Guest.”
The who-killed-Richard Warwick mystery takes theatergoers on more curves than Christie’s Orient Express train and keeps the audience guessing until seconds before the cast takes its bow.
The curtain opens and Sylvia Marnie, who portrays Laura Warwick, is standing over a dead body with a gun in her hand. A rapping on French doors to the garden interrupts her and a stranger enters — the unexpected guest of the play’s title.
Heiko Knipfelberg plays Michael Starkwedder, the stranger. He also directs the mystery.
He shares a good portion of the play with Marnie, ever the suffering wife, girlfriend, mother. Marnie has honed her acting skills on such roles at Island Players and doesn’t disappoint this time. Her Laura Warwick is cunning and needy. It’s difficult to feel much empathy for the woman, whose husband has just been shot, but, then again, perhaps he died at her hand. Knipfelberg drives the narrative of “The Unexpected Guest,” both onstage and with his measured directing.
Just who is this stranger and how did he manage to arrive precisely at the time of Richard’s demise? Knipfelberg’s well-paced portrayal and calm demeanor, mingled with suggestions and suppositions, lead the audience through a gamut of possibilities.
But, is he leading them to the truth?
Jeffrey Steiger as Jan Warwick, half-brother to the murdered Richard, unequivocally steals this show.
His portrayal of the “not-quite-right” Warwick man of the house — he keeps reminding us of this role — is so good it’s hard to imagine he’s acting.
From weird hand movements, clambering on footstools and manic obsession with blood and guns and his brother’s sudden demise, Steiger claims full possession of the players’ stage and holds it. He is the only one you can watch when he enters a scene.
Seasoned Island Player cast member Daniel Coppinger plays Inspector Thomas, who is tasked with unraveling the who-done-it at the Warwick house. Coppinger’s exasperated body language — the rubbing of his hair, waving arms, fiddling with his briefcase — mirror his frustration with the deepening, confusion of the crime scene.
Kristin Mazzitelli portrays Sergeant Cadwallader and spends much of the play scribbling in a notebook and trailing behind Coppinger. Only in the final moments do we hear much from Cadwallader.
Valerie Lipscomb is house secretary Miss Bennett, Caroline Cox portrays the elder Mrs. Warwick and Colin Brady stiffly portrays Richard Warwick’s weasel of a male nurse, Henry Angell. He is the most unlikable character of the production, and well played by Brady.
Mark Shoemaker appears as Julian Farrar, a neighbor and paramour of Laura Warwick. Jack Abene carries the role of dead man Richard Warwick.
This one will keep you guessing until the final curtain drops. Well done Island Players. The 70th season is well underway.
Jan Van Wart’s set design closely follows Agatha Christie’s for “The Unexpected Guest,” which required various loaned items, including leather chairs and tables to keep the set true. Costume designer Priscilla Boyd’s period pieces were spot on. The play excels onstage thanks to stage manager Denise Handley, lighting designer Patrick Bedel and sound designer Mike Lusk.
The play is coproduced by Bortell’s Lounge in Anna Maria.
“An Unexpected Guest” runs through Sept. 30 at the Island Players, 10009 Gulf Drive, Anna Maria. Performances are 8 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday and 2 p.m. Sundays. The theater is dark Mondays.
The box office is open 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Monday-Saturday and one hour before each performance.
Season tickets are $92.50 for five shows or $20 per show.
For more information, call 941-778-5755 or visit the website at theislandplayers.org.