A dark and stormy night. A mysterious stranger. A shocking discovery. A house full of secrets. Sounds like the perfect recipe for an Agatha Christie mystery. Beginning Friday, July 17, Playhouse 615 invites audiences to become detectives as it presents the Grande Dame of suspense’s murderous The Unexpected Guest — a classic whodunnit where every character has a secret, every conversation may contain a clue, and nothing is quite what it first appears.
Before audiences start gathering clues, JHPEntertainment goes behind the scenes for a Rapid Fire 20Q with co-director Craig Hartline and cast members Katie Delaune (Laura Warwick), Emma Reinbold (Miss Bennett) and Kam Smith (Henry Angell) to talk Agatha Christie, theatrical mysteries, suspicious characters and bringing one of the world’s greatest storytellers to the Playhouse 615 stage.
RAPID FIRE 20Q WITH CO-DIRECTOR AND CAST MEMBERS OF AGATHA CHRISTIE’s THE UNEXPECTED GUEST
RAPID FIRE WITH THE UNEXPECTED GUEST CO-DIRECTOR CRAIG HARTLINE
JHPENTERTAINMENT: For more than a century, Agatha Christie‘s novels, movie adaptations and plays have been convincing audiences that everyone is a suspect. Having appeared onstage in a handful of Playhouse 615 productions (as well as numerous theatre companies across the mid-state), what was it about The Unexpected Guest that made you want to step behind the scenes as co-director to bring this particular mystery to life?
CRAIG HARTLINE: I have wanted to direct for a while, but have really never had the opportunity to take on that role. Ann asked me earlier in the year if I would be interested in directing a show for 615. When I saw the upcoming shows, I jumped at Agatha Christie. I have loved her works for years and couldn’t think of a better show to get my feet wet in the directors role.
JHPENTERTAINMENT: You’re co-directing this production with Ann Street-Cavanagh. For audiences who have never experienced a co-directing process, how does that actually work? Is it a creative partnership where you divide responsibilities, challenge each other’s ideas, or occasionally have a theatrical version of “I thought YOU were watching that”?
CRAIG HARTLINE: Ann and I have been in several plays together as actors. We seem to think alike when it comes to what our vision of how action should occur on the stage. There have been more than a few times either I have leaned and whispered to her or vice a versa about a scene and we were thinking the exact same thing. As far as a creative working partnership, I am absorbing as much as I can from Ann’s directing talent as possible and she has been very good at asking what I think about all aspects of the process, everything from set design, to costumes, to blocking. Having two sets of eyes really helps the process, so we don’t miss too much.
JHPENTERTAINMENT: Christie’s mysteries depend on atmosphere, pacing and keeping audiences guessing. In addition to directing the show, I understand you also designed the set alongside cast member Wanderson Rezende. What are some of the biggest challenges — and opportunities — of creating that suspenseful world inside the more intimate space of Playhouse 615?
CRAIG HARTLINE: What can I say about Wanderson and the way his minds eye envisions a show? It is truly remarkable to watch the wheels turn in his mind. We bounce ideas off each other and think of subtle ways to pull the audience in. The biggest challenges for me, is to find a way to bring his vision to life with the set construction, along with incredible help from Rich Moses, we have striven to do it justice. All “black box” theaters have an intimate feel, but we are hoping to grab the audience and pull them along on this journey, by helping to immerse them into the story.
JHPENTERTAINMENT: This cast is bringing characters to life who all have different layers, motivations and secrets. What has impressed you most about watching the cast explore their roles and discover the people behind the mystery?
CRAIG HARTLINE: It has truly been a thrill to watch each of these amazing actors find their characters voices from Agatha Christies written words. Their subtle facial expressions, the way they envision how their particular character walks, talks, even breaths shows up in every performance. They are phenomenal actors and it shows up in every rehearsal. I cannot wait for audiences to see how they bring these people to life from just words on a page. They impress me every night. The director side of me is amazed at their vision and the actor side wishes I could be on the stage sharing it with them.
JHPENTERTAINMENT: Without giving away the ending and causing Christie fans to come looking for answers… what one key element that makes this production of The Unexpected Guest a mystery audiences will want to experience live?
CRAIG HARTLINE: Goodness, just one key element? For Christie fans seeing the story performed in front of them is always a thrill, but to those who may not know her works, the key element is misdirection. Just when you think you know “who done it” she laughs and says not so fast, here is the real murderer.
RAPID FIRE WITH KATIE DELAUNE THE UNEXPECTED GUEST‘s LAURA WARWICK
JHPENTERTAINMENT: Laura Warwick begins The Unexpected Guest surrounded by questions, suspicion and circumstances that immediately make audiences wonder what really happened. What drew you to exploring such a complicated character?
KATIE DELAUNE: Agatha Christie truly wrote Laura as a dynamic character. In someone else’s hands, she could be a one-dimensional gold digger. But Christie knows that humans are multifaceted, and they move differently in their relationships, even within their own families. As an actor, how could you not want to explore that type of role! In the opening scene, I hope the audience sees the complicated emotions she has towards her husband, who has become a shadow of the person she fell in love with.
JHPENTERTAINMENT: Laura is a character who forces audiences to constantly reevaluate what they think they know. What has been the biggest challenge in finding the balance between vulnerability, strength and mystery in her?
KATIE DELAUNE: I think the biggest challenge is allowing all three of those characteristics to exist. Her strength and vulnerability are quiet and controlled, respectively, and from that a mystery naturally emerges.
JHPENTERTAINMENT: Agatha Christie’s The Unexpected Guest premiered onstage in 1958, with the action taking place in Wales. I understand while the locale hasn’t changed, for Playhouse 615’s production, the time period has been bumped up to 1982. What’s been the most fun about reliving that era by way of this show?
KATIE DELAUNE: Working on the wardrobe with Zoe (our costume designer) has been so fun. Thank goodness the 80s loved wide wheels, because I can’t balance on stilts anymore. I also bought a set of Velcro hair rollers. Haven’t done that since I was a kid.
JHPENTERTAINMENT: Important investigative journalism question… Whodunnit? OK, OK…no spoilers, I know…seriously though…Who amongst your cast could get away with just about anything?
KATIE DELAUNE: Haha! As a former journalist myself, I appreciate trying to wrangle that secret out of me. Linda Spier could get away with just about anything because we (cast and crew) trust her so much. Her experience and advice are invaluable.
JHPENTERTAINMENT: The play opens with a tense scene between your Laura Warwick and Matt Smith’s Michael Starkwedder. Through the course of the action, their relationship rollercoasters between unforeseen allies to suspicious frienemies. As a scene partner, how has working with Matt aided in walking this tightrope?
KATIE DELAUNE: Matt is a great scene partner. I believe we’ve created this fun dance at the beginning of the show. I also really enjoy listening to him talk about his character, as he explores Starkwedder’s motives. It’s helped me shape Laura’s character and has made me a better actor. He gives me space in each scene to try different beats so that we can maintain that tension. I’m so amazed at how he locks into our scene he is in.
RAPID FIRE WITH EMMA REINBOLD, THE UNEXPECTED GUEST’s MISS BENNETT
JHPENTERTAINMENT: Miss Bennett is part of the Warwick household, a place where everyone seems to know something — but perhaps not everything. What makes her such an interesting character to bring to life?
EMMA REINBOLD: Miss Bennett, affectionately known as Benny, is in that strange position in the household where she’s not quite family but she’s not just a servant either. She cares about and takes care of each and every Warwick with a fierce protectiveness. Benny is a fun mix of stern and earnest, fastidious and frazzled, and it’s a delight to bring her to life with this cast and crew.
JHPENTERTAINMENT: Agatha Christie published her first book in 1920 and is widely considered the most successful mystery writer in history, having written 66 detective novels, 14 short story collections, two memoirs and 20 original stage plays. In the hundred+ years since her debut, her books have sold more than 2 billion copies! What is it about her mysteries that keeps audiences returning to them generation after generation?
EMMA REINBOLD: There are so many reasons Agatha Christie is the queen of mystery. I think one reason is that she has such a way of bringing her readers/audiences along and making them feel clever when they spot important details as the truth of the mystery unfurls. Her stories beautifully walk that fine line of providing clues throughout without beating us over the head with them.
Also, the quickest way to pull me out of a story is to have the characters do something or have the actions unfold in such a way that’s just not possible. But Agatha Christie pays heed to both the science and the psychology of it all.
JHPENTERTAINMENT: Mystery stories thrive on observation — noticing the little details, the pauses and the things people don’t say. Is there a detail of the set, the props, the costumes or the story itself that you find most intriguing?
EMMA REINBOLD: I’m always most intrigued by the things people choose not to say, what they say without speaking, and those moments they decide to lie about something or someone. I particularly love the moments when the characters are verbally sparring, trying to figure each other out, during a tete-a-tete.
JHPENTERTAINMENT: If you found yourself inside a real-life mystery, would you be the detective carefully collecting clues, the suspicious character everyone watches, or the person quietly sitting in the corner knowing more than they admit?
EMMA REINBOLD: Oooh, it would probably depend because I can see myself doing a bit of all three. I would want to be the one sitting back, observing and quietly unraveling the threads of the mystery behind the scenes just to prove to myself I can figure it out.
But, if there wasn’t already a capable detective leading the investigation (and giving me the opportunity to people-watch), then I’d probably step forward to organize and analyze the mystery in a more official capacity.
And, if the case wasn’t serious (if, say, a murder hadn’t been done), then I might find myself leaning into mischievousness and acting suspicious to see if others would fall for it, just for a bit of fun.
JHPENTERTAINMENT: Every mystery has someone who seems to know more than they’re letting on. During the rehearsal process as you’ve gotten to know your cast mates, who do you suspect is best at keeping secrets—or at least acting like they are?
EMMA REINBOLD: Hmm, that might have two different answers. I’d say Rich Moses is probably the most likely to know things, either because any of the rest of us have confided in him and/or because he has sat back and quietly observed things for himself. Either way, he’d never even let on that there was a secret to divulge.
As for who’s most likely to act like they’re the best at keeping a secret – maybe Wanderson Rezende. But then he’d get excited and share anyway.
RAPID FIRE WITH THE UNEXPECTED GUEST’s HENRY ANGELL, KAM SMITH
JHPENTERTAINMENT: Henry Angell is part of a story where family, loyalty and hidden truths all collide. What interested you most about stepping into this role?
KAM SMITH: Just how slimy this character is. Angell is such a sly character that will try just about anything to move up the social ladder. I was so interested in trying my hand at a different type of power on stage, where my words and wits can battle with costars who are physically more imposing than myself.
JHPENTERTAINMENT: Christie’s characters often live in a world where appearances can be deceiving. How much fun is it playing someone where audiences may constantly question motives and intentions?
KAM SMITH: Oh an unbelievable amount of fun. Getting to kind of grow and pick and choose with the script where I can place little nuggets of info and tells for the more sleuthy audience members has been a real treat!
JHPENTERTAINMENT: With the action of the play taking place in Wales, I hear you all have been working on your Welsh dialect. How’s that going?
KAM SMITH: It’s going great! We were given help from a dialect coach that has been instrumental in getting all of us up to speed. On the same note, getting to learn the ins and outs of that specific dialect has also been a Swiss Army knife for the other nearby regions. So I feel confident that we can be as accurate as possible to the Welsh accent and dialect.
JHPENTERTAINMENT: If this cast were actually trapped in a Christie-style mystery, who amongst your crew and fellow cast mates would you want leading the investigation — and who would you keep under close surveillance?
KAM SMITH: I personally feel Rich Moses would be perfect as a leader in the investigation, much like Michael Starkwedder in this show, he has a way of making you feel really comfortable talking to him that if you had something to hide, you might accidentally let it slip during a conversation with him. As for largely suspicious characters, I’d have to give it to our own director Ann. Mostly because you can’t tell what she’s thinking at all, and that’s a big point of confusion when you’re trying to see if you’re putting on a good show in rehearsals, but also she seems a little too unlikely, which is the exact person you want to look for!
JHPENTERTAINMENT: After audiences leave Playhouse 615, what do you hope they’re still debating, discussing and trying to solve on the drive home?
KAM SMITH: Even though obviously there can be only one person who truly committed the murder, I would hope they still wonder who would commit it if given even a few more days. Most everyone in the rogues gallery of this show completely despises the deceased Mr. Warwick, so you’re always on your toes just to see who could’ve actually done it. Some of them even might have violent tendencies to begin with, so even if there could only be one. Who was right at the breaking point?
Agatha Christie’s The Unexpected Guest has been inviting audiences into a suspenseful world of secrets, suspicion and unexpected revelations since making its stage debut back in 1958. Playhouse 615’s slightly modernized 80s take brings this intriguing whodunnit into their intimate theatrical setting where every glance, pause and revelation becomes part of the investigation with performances Friday, July 17 through Sunday, August 2. So gather your clues, question everything and join Playhouse 615 for an evening where the biggest mystery isn’t just what happened — it’s who you can believe. CLICK HERE for tickets. For more from Playhouse 615, check out their website or follow them on Instagram and Facebook.
As always, if you wanna follow JHPEntertainment to find out who I’m chatting with for my next Rapid Fire Q&A, or for my take on the latest local and national theatre, music, arts and more, visit JHPENTERTAINMENT.com or find us on Facebook, Insta, Threads and X. Till then #GoSeeTheShow!