Cast of A Murder: Phillipa Haymes (Haley Ray), Patrick Simmons (Cavender Lane), Mitzi (Kristen Ownby), Detective Sergeant Mellors (Hunter Thaw), Julia Simmons (Rachael E. Parker)
An advertisement in the local paper announces that a murder will take place at Little Paddocks, Miss Blacklock’s Victorian boarding house, this very evening at 6:30. As one might imagine, this announcement creates consternation among the residents of Little Paddocks. Is it a grim joke, or a warning of impending doom? What follows is a classic Agatha Christie puzzle of mixed motives, concealed identities, twists and turns, and a professional game of cat-and-mouse between the determined Inspector Craddock and the delightfully droll Miss Jane Marple.
In 1956, during the Golden Age of Television, The Goodyear Television Playhouse broadcast a live teleplay adaptation of A Murder Is Announced starring Gracie Fields, Roger Moore and Jessica Tandy. This spring, Springhouse Theatre Company in Smyrna pays homage to that historic broadcast, by presenting Agatha Christie’s A Murder Is Announced as if it were a live television production. Middle Tennessee theatergoers will have the opportunity to experience what it might have been like to be a member of that live studio audience.
Agatha Christie’s A Murder Is Announced is the spring offering of Rutherford County-based Springhouse Theatre Company. The show runs for three weekends, April 21, 22, 28 and 29 and May 5–7. Showtimes are 7:30 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays with a special 3:30 p.m. matinee on Sunday, May 7.
Springhouse Theatre is located on the campus of Springhouse Worship & Arts Center at 14119 Old Nashville Hwy., Smyrna. Tickets are available at ticketsnashville.com. For more information, call (615) 852-8499 or visit springhousetheatre.com.
