“Roger Ackroyd”: Whodunit Comedy Draws Big Playhouse Crowds

“06880” culture correspondent Robin Moyer Chung writes:

Here’s what I don’t understand about Westport Country Playhouse’s production of “Agatha Christie’s The Murder of Roger Ackroyd”: Why is it not billed as a comedy?

A fast-paced whodunit set in 1926 in the English countryside, the play follows Dr. James Sheppard’s quest through a panoply of socialites, suspects and detectives to find the killer of its wealthiest inhabitant, Roger Ackroyd.

With an excellent ensemble cast, clever sets and thoughtful costumes, the play begins with a charming introduction from WCP interns, fizzes to a startling climax, and ends with a plea to keep the ending a secret.

Our own Mark Shanahan, executive director of the Playhouse, wrote and directed the adaptation of Christie’s book that many consider canonical detective fiction.

Anthony Cochrane as Hercule Poirot in “Agatha Christie’s The Murder of Roger Ackroyd.” (Photo/Mark Smith)

He confesses to being a “fanboy” when he read it as a teenager, and “literally gasped out loud” when he finished it. “‘The Murder of Roger Ackroyd’ has one of her greatest endings of all time, he says. “It’s the book that put her on the map in 1926.”

Although notoriously considered a tricky text to tackle for the theater, he decided to bang out a few pages anyway. He liked it, so he knocked out an entire draft.

Shanahan approached Christie’s estate about the script, which passed it on to the head of acquisitions and Christie’s grandson. Both loved it.

“They were wildly supportive, which I had not anticipated,” he recalls. “I thought they were going to make all sorts of demands. I don’t think I ever got one.”

With his dialogue and sharp direction, Shanahanteases every bit of delight and wit from the book. If I’m allowed to admit this, I enjoyed it more than Oscar Wilde’s “The Importance of Being Earnest,” which is billed as a comedy and plays on similar conceits.

Allen Gilmore (Inspector Baglan) and Shereen Ahmed (Fiona Ackroyd). (Photo/T. Charles Erickson)

The standout performance (by only a hair) comes from Tony Award-winning Karen Ziemba as the nosy and flamboyant Gertrude Ackroyd, Roger’s financially dependent sister-in-law.

Costume designer Jeni Schaefer dresses her and the other women tethered to Roger in flowing, bright dresses that contrast with the stuffy attire and sensible shoes of those who must work for a living.

Their physicalities — especially the slight, hesitant shuffle of the inscrutable butler Parker (Tom Hewitt) and the outsized gestures of Gertrude — sharpen the humor and depth of each character.

There were more young people in the audience than I’ve seen at other shows. Perhaps this type of show will encourage a new guard of theatergoers?

The one big negative — because nothing is perfect — is that WCP can’t extend the run.

(“Agatha Christie’s The Murder of Roger Ackroyd” is in its final week. Shows are today [Saturday] at 8 p.m.; Sunday, July 26 at 3 p.m.; Wednesday and Thursday, July 29-30, at 7 p.m.; Friday, July 31 at 8 p.m., and Saturday, August 1 at 3 and 8 p.m. Click here for tickets, and more information.)

(Robin Moyer Chung covers culture for “06880.” If you enjoy stories like these — or anything else on this hyper-local blog — please click here to support our work. Thank you!)