The Murder of Roger Ackroyd is considered to be one of Agatha Christie’s best works, albeit a controversial one. The controversy comes from those who complain that Christie didn’t follow the established norms of a murder mystery. Those who love this story think it is among her best with surprises around every corner. The naysayers complain that she cheated the reader with too few clues and the ability to draw conclusions alongside her famous detective, Hercule Poirot. Some say she just dumps the solution on you in the final moments. I guess you will be the final judge as to whether you had enough crumbs along the way to figure it out! Our production is an adaptation by Philip Grecian, and has been presented at the professional, amateur, and educational levels.
So how did we get here? Well, we’ve produced Christie at Wilton High before. I directed Witness for the Prosecution four years ago at WHS. We chose the show because it’s a great story and it was expandable to a large cast size which is hard to do with plays, which are generally smaller. Wilton High’s Little Theater Club has a tradition of its members pitching play and musical ideas to the adult team. Last year a few members relentlessly plugged the idea of another Agatha Christie show. We kept rejecting their choices because they didn’t have big enough casts. They never gave up, so our amazing producer, Kathryn Luckstone, expanded the search and eventually found the script you will see today. I read it, and we were off to the races. With some double casting, and creative additions, the show could be inclusive, entertaining, educational, and FUN! Following the lead of our students we decided to try to integrate them deep into the project. We turned this production into a theater classroom that exposed and included the cast and crew to all aspects of producing a show. The students have had a vested interest from inception to the completed project you are about to experience.
Of course we could not have done this without the continued support of the High School administration under Dr. O’Donnell’s leadership and Dr. Smith’s District support and leadership.
As always, the production team can’t possibly survive without our amazing support team. Thanks to Craig, Karen, and Marit for once again putting up with the crazy hours.
ENJOY THE SHOW, and let us know if you figured it out along the way! NO CHEATING (where’s the fun in that?)!
Sincerely,
K. Slater
PS - Yes, it is a real dictaphone on stage. Thank you Don!
