Peninsula Players Theatre, America’s oldest professional resident summer theatre, presents The Mousetrap (July 8 – July 26) by Agatha Christie.
The Mousetrap begins with seven strangers snowed in at a secluded guesthouse. When a police sergeant arrives with news that a killer is among them, secrets unravel and pasts are exposed. Agatha Christie’s highly acclaimed murder mystery is the world’s longest running play, captivating audiences with laughs, surprises, and suspense.
Agatha Christie is known worldwide as the “Queen of Crime” and is the best-selling novelist of all time, with sales of her novels reaching more than two billion. In the 1930s she began adapting her stories to the stage and became a record-breaking playwright. The London production of The Mousetrap is the longest continuously running play in history – over 73 years!
Jessica Fisch makes her directorial debut at Peninsula Players Theatre this season with Agatha Christie’s masterpiece. Fisch’s credits include Dear Evan Hansen at Paramount Theatre, Beautiful, The Carole King Musical at Marriott Theatre, for which she won a Joseph Jefferson Award for Best Director and Best Production, and notable Agatha Christie classics, Murder on the Orient Express as well as And Then There Were None, both at Drury Lane Theatre.
The cast of this highly-anticipated show includes Aja Alcazar, Sean Blake, Christopher Sheard,and Bri Sudia, who are carrying over from the first production of the season,Baggage. Also joining the cast are Theatre alumni Janet Ulrich Brooks (Little Women The Broadway Musical, A Rock Sails By, Blithe Spirit), Garrett Lutz (The Angel Next Door, Million-Dollar Quartet, The Stranger), Jonathan Weir (Spider’s Web, Rain, Escanaba in da Moonlight), and making his Peninsula Players Theatre debut, Brandon Acosta.
The creative team, all making their Peninsula Players Theatre debuts, include Maximo Grano De Oro, lighting design; Ethan Korvne, composition and sound design; Lauren M. Nichols, scenic design; Loren Shaw, costume design.
Newcomer, Acosta is a Chicago-based actor and composer, having performed in Peter and the Starcatcher, Little Shop of Horrors, and An Act of God at the Paramount Theatre, Grease at Drury Lane Theatre, and Frederick at Chicago Children’s Theatre.
In addition to her work at Peninsula Players Theatre, Brooks is a company member of TimeLine Theatre Company, having performed in 16 productions including Master Class, for which she received a Joseph Jefferson Award for her portrayal of Maria Callas. Brooks has performed throughout Chicago, including Goodman Theatre, Northlight Theatre, Writers Theatre, Lookingglass Theatre, Steppenwolf Theatre Company, and more.
Lutz‘s credits include numerous titles at Marriott Theatre, including Little Shop of Horrors, Titanic, Damn Yankees; Three Sisters at Steppenwolf Theatre Company; The Music Man at Goodman Theatre; as well as Macbeth and Twelfth Night at Chicago Shakespeare Theater.
Weir is a Chicago-based actor, having appeared at Writers Theatre, Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Goodman Theatre, Court Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, and on Broadway, where he played Jafar in Aladdin and Scar in Disney’s The Lion King.
Lighting Designer, Grano De Oro, is a Chicago-based lighting designer for theatre, opera, and dance whose credits include Octet at Raven Theatre, BOTH at Teatro Vista Productions, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao at Goodman Theatre, and The Taming of the Shrew and A Raisin in the Sun, both at Court Theatre.
Korvne, Composer and Sound Designer, has credits that include The Chairs at American Players Theatre, Goodnight Moon at Chicago Children’s Theatre, Modern Gentleman at About Face Theatre, and Birds of North America at A Red Orchid Theatre.
Scenic Designer Nichols also hails from Chicago where she has designed Hot Wing King for Writers Theatre, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee and True West for Paramount Theatre, as well as Father of the Bride for Drury Lane Theatre.
Shaw, Costume Designer, has spent the last 16 years designing costumes for theatre, film, and opera in NYC, where she spent most of her career. Her designs have been seen onstage at Shakespeare Theatre Company, The Kennedy Center, Wolf Trap Opera Company in Virginia, The Glimmerglass Festival in New York, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, and more.
Peninsula Players Theatre is a professional, not-for-profit theatre that employs members of Actors’ Equity Association (AEA), the union of professional actors and stage managers; United Scenic Artists (USA), the labor union and professional association of designers, artists, and craftspeople; and the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC), the theatrical union of stage directors and choreographers.
The audience pavilion’s side panels, doors, and vents will remain open throughout the summer season. Patrons should dress for the weather and be prepared for shifting temperatures and breezes off the bay. Peninsula Players Theatre is a smoke-free campus. Smoking is prohibited on the grounds at all times. Audience members are invited to come early for a pre-show beverage or snack at the Luna Bar and Canteen. The grounds open 90 minutes before the show. Peninsula Players Theatre performs Tuesdays through Saturdays at 8:00 p.m. and Sundays at 7:30 p.m. except for Sunday, July 26 at 2:00 p.m. Ticket prices for The Mousetrap range from $54 to $59, with student and group tickets for parties of 15 or more available. Groups should phone the Box Office at (920) 868-3287 to make arrangements. For more information, visit