DANIEL RADER
From left, Jeremy Gallardo, Evan Zes, Gina Daniels, Amber Walker, Cameron Knight and Christiana Clark co-star in The McCarter Theatre Center’s production of Heidi Armbruster’s “Mrs. Christie.”
Heidi Armbruster’s 2019 play “Mrs. Christie,” which The McCarter Theatre Center is currently presenting at its Berlind Theatre, was inspired by real events in the life of mystery writer Agatha Christie, and it contains a play-within-a-play that features two of her most famous characters. But the question isn’t so much whodunit as whatisgoingon, as Armbruster takes a thoroughly unconventional approach to the subject matter, mixing together time travel, surrealism and broad humor in a way that makes this a play like no other.
Armbrusther does ultimately make some serious points about loss, and connection, and the role of art — and mystery — in our lives. But it comes as a bit of a surprise that she gets there, given the craziness of much of what has come before.
DANIEL RADER
Polly Lee, left, and Patrese D. McClain in “Mrs. Christie.”
In other words … Agatha Christie may represent, to modern audiences, a reserved, old-fashioned, “proper” approach to life. But don’t expect anything of the sort from “Mrs. Christie.” This is a wild ride of a play, with no stiff upper lips in sight.
Donya K. Washington directs, and Lex Liang is responsible for both the handsomely opulent set and the stylish costumes; Christiana Clark, who plays Agatha, wears outfits whose bold colors suit the subject matter.
The play is based on a 1926 incident that became a big news story at the time. Christie — then 36 and already famous — disappeared for 11 days, with no explanation.
Just before the play begins, a recording of the 1920s hit “Five Foot Two, Eyes of Blue (Has Anybody Seen My Gal?)” foreshadows what is to come. Agatha enters, shrieking “Peter is dead!” Peter, it turns out, is a dog. And — we find out later — he’s not really dead. But this serves as an indication of the eccentricities that “Mrs. Christie” will offer.
Much of the play is set in Styles, the mansion near London where Agatha and her husband, Archie (Cameron Knight), live. Agatha is mourning the recent death of her mother and acutely aware that Archie is having an affair with Nancy Neele (Amber Walker). Meanwhile, in a parallel story set in the present, Lucy (Patrese D. McClain), an American whose mother has recently died, is attending an Agatha Christie Festival, complete with cosplaying, at Styles.
“I’m trying to, like, eat, pray, love my way into some meaningful adventure,” Lucy says. She does so, soon enough, by stumbling upon a mystery concerning a lost Christie manuscript, possibly written during Agatha’s 1926 disappearance.
DANIEL RADER
Evan Zes and Christiana Clark in “Mrs. Christie.”
We see Agatha during her disappearance, having a sort of breakdown and losing touch with reality: Time stops moving linearly. Evan Zes, whose comically preening character is a identified in the program only as “Monsieur,” represents a figment of Agatha’s imagination, and gets the play’s biggest laughs.
Meanwhile, Lucy is in hot pursuit of the missing manuscript. Lucy and Agatha meet and form a bond, despite the century of time that separates them.
Frankly, I found the loud and frantic tone of much of the play off-putting. And some of Armbruster’s flights of fancy worked better than others. But there certainly were some laughs along the way, and Armbruster did tie together the play’s themes in a neat and surprisingly moving way, eventually.
In the program, Washington is asked what she loves about Agatha Christie, and responds, “Everything has a purpose, and everything resolves. She takes chaos and makes order.”
This play does follow this strategy. But I think if the chaos were turned down a notch, it might resonate a bit more.
The McCarter Theatre Center in Princeton will present “Mrs. Christie” at its Berlind Theatre through May 31. Visit mccarter.org.
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