Stage Review - Spider’s Web (Bremerton Community Theatre)
Stage Review - Spider’s Web
Presented By: Bremerton Community Theatre - Bremerton, WA
Show Run: February 07 - March 02, 2025
Date Reviewed: Saturday, February 15, 2025
Run Time: 2 Hours, 30 minutes (including 15 minute intermission)
Reviewed By: Greg Heilman
Agatha Christie’s Spider’s Web is unique among her many published works. Actress Margaret Lockwood, who was known at the time for her work in film, had never appeared in the West End, aside from a turn in Peter Pan. Wanting to make a return to the legendary theatre district, she asked Agatha Christie to write a play for her to star in, but there were conditions. Her character couldn’t be sinister and it had to be a comedy-mystery-thriller. The resulting play, Spider’s Web, has become Christie’s second most popular play, behind only Mousetrap. It’s the latest play from the Queen of Crime to hit the Kitsap stages, and this year’s offering from regular Christie director Jeffrey Bassett, running at Bremerton Community Theatre through March 2.
In Spider’s Web, the plot seems cut and dry, Clarissa Hailsham-Brown, married to husband and foreign service officer Henry, is step-mother to Henry’s daughter Pippa from his previous marriage. When Henry returns home, just to turn around and head out again to pick up a foreign dignitary, let’s just call him “Jones”, and Clarissa’s guardian Sir Rowland Delahaye, friend and local Justice of the Peace Hugo Birch, and young secretary who has a thing for Clarissa Jeremy Warrender head to the golf club, Clarissa is left at home alone, save for Pippa who has gone to bed and the Elgins, husband and wife, servants of the Hailsham-Browns. Enter Oliver Costello, new husband to Henry’s ex, through the French doors, when he immediately begins to rifle through the antique desk in the corner of the room, the same desk that young Jeremy Warrender showed an interest in earlier that evening. When confronted by Clarissa, Oliver claims that he wants to take Pippa home to her mother, clearly a diversion, but not to Clarissa. Rebuffed, he is escorted out by gardener Mildred Peake, but it’s not the last anyone sees of Mr. Costello. What transpires after is a murder, with a culprit that seems obvious but may not be, a cover up that that provides more questions than answers, and a group of people that are connected like a spider’s web, with the real guilty party caught in the middle.
The design of the Bremerton Community Theatre version of Spider’s Web is lead by Rana Tan, with lighting by Dale Borer, and sound from Kevin Matthew. There’s a classic look to a murder mystery, especially one that’s set in a large estate, with French doors, at least one couch, doors to other rooms, a library and other chairs or seats of some sort. This set has the added benefit of a trap door, a library case that moves to reveal a hidden room, something that is paramount to the telling of the story. I like the way that Rana and Jeffrey work together in the designing of these stories, though, because though there is a certain template that can be applied to this genre, and we see many who just build cookie cutter versions, it’s clear that this set works for the movement of the characters that makes the play work. Movement is key in a play like this, to keep the momentum and the pace up of the story, which generally helps the suspense, and in this case the humor as well, and the set is laid out wonderfully for this. Finally, on the set, I do like the depth of detail, how when doors open, there’s something behind them, like a library, or hallway, not just a backstage area that is visible to the audience. It’s a detail that I know Rana and Jeffrey are always aware of, and have applied here as well. Spider’s Web, at its best, is a healthy balance of humor and suspense. This production most definitely hits the mark with humor, and it does a nice job capturing that which Christie built into the play, but whether it is at the expense of some of the tension and suspense, or that’s just missing from it, the play doesn’t feel like it’s got the same level of apprehension that we’re accustomed to with Agatha Christie’s work. Sometimes, extra tension can be accomplished through light and sound work, whether it be storms, rain, underscored music, etc., but I feel like some of that is missing here.
As I said, though, it’s the humor that takes top billing here, and it’s the cast that Jeffrey has put together that is behind the delivery of that humor. And, keep in mind, that when I say that the play is missing some of that classic Agatha Christie suspense, it doesn’t mean that it’s not an entertaining murder mystery, it’s funny and it does have the requisite twists and turns, just without the tension, which honestly is ok in this story. And yes, the cast is why this is so entertaining, their characters are fun and each does feel like a classic Christie caricature. This starts with Abby Dickson as Clarissa, step-mother to Pippa and the one who seems to be the person of most interest to the Inspector and Constable when they come calling after the murder. She begins the play with some of the games she likes, the kind where she imagines strange things happening to her, like a dead body showing up in her living room. It’s when fantasy becomes reality that Abby’s work as Clarissa kicks into high gear. She’s clearly not guilty, but Clarissa has enough secrets that she can’t prove it through any sort of alibi, the biggest being that she promised Henry not to disclose the actual identify of the diplomat he’s headed out to pick up at the airport. I like Abby’s accent, her flirty and staged naïveté when Jeremy hints at his feelings for her, and the way she interacts with the police when they question her about the events surrounding the murder. It’s quite a good performance from Abby, but that also goes for the majority of the cast. There are a lot of nice performances up and down in this group. Raymond Deuel continues his string of excellent work on Kitsap stages with his Sir Rowland Delahaye. He’s made up to look older, Sir Rowland is Clarissa’s guardian after all, but his delivery is very nice, and his work is extremely entertaining. Joseph Moon’s Hugo Birch doesn’t roll with the punches as much as Sir Rowland does, and I like Joseph’s more formal and reserved characterization. In typical Christie fashion, Act 1 is the setup and Act 2 the “investigation”, and Spider’s Web is no different. When Inspector Lord and Constable Jones arrive to question the household after receiving an anonymous call that a murder had been committed there that evening, what’s clear is that Adrian DeGroot just seems like the perfect Christie investigator. Following up on his excellent Hercule Poirot last season, his Inspector Lord has the posture, the mannerisms, and the delivery that is just right for a role like this. Sasha Richardson is Constable Jones, who does a lot of the legwork for Inspector Lord, and they’re good in this supporting role.
The most entertaining of the characters is without a doubt the Hailsham-Brown’s gardener Mildred Peake. She doesn’t just have a big personality, she’s funny too, and when it comes to sleuthing, she’s the first to jump in and try to solve the case herself. Anne Biglow is excellent as Peake, with so much stage presence and confidence in her work. Spider’s Web is generally an ensemble piece, perhaps Abby as Clarissa could be considered a lead, but as far as standouts go, for this work it’s Anne as Mildred Peake for pure entertainment value. The cast is rounded out by Daniel Lunsford Melin as Jeremy Warrender, Damon Apelt as butler Elgin, Stephen Dearborn as Oliver Costello, Eric Hayes as Henry Hailsham-Brown, and the surprise of the show young Emery Ray as Pippa. Emery as Pippa is refreshing, she manages her persona very well and the role asks her to do quite a bit emotionally, which she has no problem managing. Well done.
The Bremerton Community Theatre production of Spider’s Web does very well with this unique play from Agatha Christie’s catalog of murder mysteries. Heavier on the humor than a lot of Christie’s work, the cast that Jeffrey Bassett has assembled delivers the Christie twists and turns in a play that is more fun that suspenseful, a play with a crime that seems straightforward and is anything but, and with a scenic design that takes the blueprint for the genre and elevates it to a higher level of excellence, Spider’s Web is different kind of Agatha Christie murder mystery, and one that is worth taking in.
Spider’s Web runs on stage at Bremerton Community Theatre through March 2. For more information, including ticket availability and sales, visit https://www.bctshows.com/.
Photo credit: MJ Jordan
