And Then There Were None Opens Friday

Iowa City - On Friday, the Iowa City Community Theatre will present And Then There Were None, a suspenseful mystery written by the best-selling author Agatha Christie.

Christie’s brilliant writing weaves the story strategically into a twisted plot that leaves the audience tripped up, pointing the blame in all the wrong places. The play is based on the 1939 book, formerly titled Ten Little Indians. The show runs for three nights only, February 11 and 12 at 7:30 pm and February 13 at 2 pm. All performances are at the Englert Theatre, 221 East Washington Street. Tickets are available through this web page.

Award-winning director and active member of the community Patti Mott is directing the play. Mott has been involved in theatre since she was three, once captivated by her father’s love for the arts. Surprisingly enough, at a young age she did not think she was going to be a director. Mott has been an actress and a costume designer, and has started many theatre productions across Iowa City. She directed her first play at City High, and graduated from the University of Iowa with a degree in Theatre Arts. Mott finds the process and growth of a play to be the most fulfilling and enjoyable part about directing. She describes Christie’s play And Then There Were None as never boring and “different from all the mysteries we know and love…[it] keeps the audience engaged until the very last scene.”

The story takes place in 1944, on an island off Devon in Southwest England. An interesting assortment of people with different backgrounds receive an invitation from an anonymous source to spend the weekend at the luxurious mansion. As each guest arrives, they gather around at dinner to realize that each has no idea why they have been invited, or who invited them. They become even more suspicious when they realize that a storm is on its way and any chance of leaving the island has been completely dashed. With no telephone or source of communication with the outside world, the apprehensions begin to rise when the guests realize that they were invited to this mansion to die. As the bodies begin to pile up, the tension between the guests grows, making them paranoid and painfully nervous, asking the obvious question: Who done it? This two act play will leave the audience gripping the edge of their seats along with the characters, wondering what will happen next.

Mott believes she has a cast of extraordinary talent. She enthusiastically describes them as “kind of a dream to get a wonderful cast and crew of people that mold together so beautifully.” The cast includes Iowa City theatre veterans Gerry Roe, Richard Paulus, Caroline Oster, Nelson Gurll, David Priebe, John Crosheck, Susan Manuel and Matthew Falduto. Newcomers Josh Megget and Tracey Schoenle round out the cast.