cwACT stages Agatha Christie’s ‘A Murder is Announced’ May 7-10

We’re announcing it: a murder is about to strike the Central Wisconsin Area Community Theater — and first-time director Noah Matthew couldn’t be more excited about it. This weekend, the cwACT players are staging “A Murder is Announced,” a classic Agatha Christie murder-mystery that brings a surprisingly fresh and delightfully twist to the classic Miss Marple whodunit.

The show runs May 7-9 at 7 p.m. and closes on Sunday, May 10 with a 2 p.m. matinee — all at Sentry Theater in Stevens Point.

By leaning into the quirky, deeply human flaws of its characters, this production promises to keep local audiences on their toes, offering a captivating and hilarious ride that will appeal to fans of everything from classic Sherlock Holmes stories to modern hits like “Knives Out.”

“The script really was so enticing to me, I am such a sucker for murder mysteries,” director Noah Matthew said. “If you love ‘Dial M for Murder,’ if you love ‘Knives Out’ — a more modern interpretation of the classic murder mystery — if you love Agatha Christie’s other works, this work is going to be great to watch.”

The play is set in the quiet village of Chipping Cleghorn, where a chilling anonymous announcement in the local newspaper declares there will be a murder in the home of Miss Blacklock that evening. As Miss Blacklock, her lodgers, and curious visitors begin to arrive, tensions mount and everyone wonders if it’s all a silly joke — until the lights go out and a gunshot cracks.

“They don’t believe that it’s going to happen, so when it does happen, they spend the rest of the play coping with it and trying to figure out what’s going on,” Matthew said. “It’s pretty much just classic Agatha Christie, but with a hint of reality, a hint of absurdism, and a glimpse into every character’s psyche no matter how big or how small they are.”

At the center of the story is Christie’s beloved amateur sleuth, the highly skilled Miss Marple, who was visiting the inn and offers her help to Inspector Craddock. Actress Susan Edgren, who plays Marple, brings a delightful layer to the classic character that Matthew said he wasn’t expecting.

“She brought a humor that was so human,” Matthew said. “If you’re familiar with Miss Marple stories you know that she always wants to figure out what’s going on, she has a drive to do it, but she has a quirky side as well. As soon as she finds out that a murder happens, she doesn’t think ‘Oh my god I don’t feel safe.’ She’s like, ‘Oh my god, I need to figure out who did this!’ [Edgren] finds the humor in that so effortlessly and she finds the human side of Miss Marple so effortlessly. It’s so absurd of a drive that it’s real and so human.”

Based on Christie’s 1950 novel of the same name, the play was adapted by Leslie Darbon in 1977. Matthew said this process allowed the play to be updated for a modern audience with a bit of a different tone than Christie’s other stories.

“When I first read the script, there was something different to me as opposed to the other Agatha Christie works I’m very familiar with,” he said. “It highlights the absurdity and humor in such an odd and dark situation.”

Murder mysteries have long been a popular staple of community theater, often drawing a broad and diverse crowd who are eager to determine “whodunnit.” Matthew believes the element that makes the genre so appealing is how these stories engage an audience.

“You want to know what’s coming next, and it gets put off over and over and over — and when you think you know something it goes a different direction, so you start getting invested in that,” Matthew said. “And that’s pretty much what theater is all about. It’s keeping the audience on a leash and pulling them in every which direction and you don’t know where you’re heading.”

Tickets for “A Murder is Announced” cost $17 for adults, $12 for seniors and kids, and $8 for veterans. They can be purchased online at cwact.org.