The Mousetrap

The show begins with a scream and a radio broadcast: Mrs. Maureen Lyon has been strangled on a London sidewalk, and police have very few leads. At the same time, Giles and Mollie Ralston finish their preparations for their new guests at Monkswell Manor: Christopher Wren, Mrs. Boyle, Major Metcalf, and Miss Casewell. One by one, the guests arrive as the blizzard outside intensifies. Mollie takes an instant liking to Christopher Wren while Giles dislikes his flirtatious ways. Mrs. Boyle is disagreeable and contentious about every aspect of the house (to the point that Giles even encourages her to stay elsewhere). Miss Casewell is aloof and “manly,” and Major Metcalf is poised and proper.

Before the evening carries on too far, there is one unexpected and mysterious guest to arrive - Mr. Paravicini claims that his Rolls-Royce overturned in a snowdrift, and all roads are closed. The seven strangers are stuck until plows can clear the roads. Ominously, the scene ends.

The next day, Mrs.