Like Queen Elizabeth II, Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap has been running in London since 1952. Some monarchs held on to their, ah, seats longer, but no other show’s graced the same boards for 25,000 performances and counting. Richard Attenborough’s share in the production, in which he acted at its West End opening, helped finance the film Gandhi. Before it began generating its own box of cultural trivia, however, the play started out as a darn good mystery: Someone’s been killed, and a small hotel full of suspects is snowed in.
Though audiences have always been asked to keep the twist ending secret, Wikipedia has, in wiki fashion, leaked it. If you’re that kind of person, please skip the paragraph about where and when to see The Mousetrap, and turn yourself in to Homeland Security.
Scottsdale Desert Stages Theatre presents the whodunit through Sunday, August 18. Hmph. It’s no six decades, but good on them. Showtime’s 7:30 p.m. Friday, June 21, at 4720 North Scottsdale Road. Tickets are $22 and $25 and available at www.desertstages.org or 480-483-1664.
Fridays, Saturdays, 7:30 p.m.; Sundays, 2 p.m. Starts: June 7. Continues through Aug. 18, 2013