Attended Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap at Gainesville Community Playhouse

This afternoon Melissa and I went to see the Gainesville Community Playhouse's production of Agatha Christie's whodunit murder mystery The Mousetrap, which you can see from the above promotional picture has been going on for more than two weeks...with tonight's showing at eight and tomorrow afternoon's at two being the last ones scheduled before it closes.  It's the first time I've been to the Van York Theater, which is located in the northwestern part of Gainesville adjacent to the Millhopper Post Office on NW 16th Boulevard.  I don't think I've been to a play since my daughter's in high school a few years ago...this is the first professional production I saw since South Pacific at the Lincoln Center in NYC back in 2010...

The stage setting for The Mousetrap is simple enough: the living room area of a guesthouse, on its grand opening day.  There are eight characters, each one playing an important part in the proceedings: the young couple who have bought and opened the guesthouse, five guests, and a police detective.  And no, I'm not about to go any further than this with my descriptions...why not experience The Mousetrap for yourself, if not this time around with time quickly running out, then the next time it comes to this town or to another you happen to find yourself in...

Sitting in the second row from the stage, everything in the play seemed close-up and immediate to me.  Since the setting is England, that pesky British accent (most) of the characters assumed was at times a little challenging for me to keep up with...but that's my fault, not the excellent actors'.  And watching a live play was different than with a movie or television production...or even reading a book...in that with the latter forms, the audience/reader's attention is focused on the characters directly involved in the action or dialogue while with plays while the actors still present within the scene still have to perform within their respective characters...even when the spotlight is on someone else.  The performers in this play were very good in all aspects.  I hope to see some of them in future presentations.  And regarding upcoming productions of Gainesville Community Playhouse at the Van York Theater, Legally Blonde: The Musical with be July 7-30, Fiddler on the Roof September 23-October 16, and Little Women (which I am almost finished reading) will run November 25-December 18...