“Witness for the Prosecution" at the Playcrafters Barn Theatre -- September 1 through 4.
Friday, September 1, through Monday, September 4
Playcrafters Barn Theatre, 4950 35th Avenue, Moline IL
Praised by The Guardian as “perfectly crafted” and “beautifully scripted,” the wildly entertaining Agatha Christie mystery Witness for the Prosecution enjoys a September 1 through 4 staging at Moline's Playcrafters Barn Theatre following the forced delay of its originally scheduled run this past March. The show is a spine-tingling entertainment by the legendary author, whose additional theatrical hits have included The Mousetrap, Murder on the Orient Express, And Then There Were None, and other classics.
In Christie's thrilling stage work based on her novel, Leonard Vole stands accused of murdering rich widow Emily French, who, unaware that he was a married man, made Vole the principal beneficiary of her estate. The stakes are high with shocking witness testimony, impassioned outbursts from the dock, and a young man’s desperate fight to escape the hangman’s noose. But events become infinitely more complicated when Vole's wife Romaine agrees to testify - not in her husband's defense, but as ... a witness for the prosecution. Generally regarded as one of the British author's most accomplished plays, Christie's story was published for the first time in the collection The Hound of Death that appeared only in the United Kingdom. In 1948, it was finally published in the United States in the collection The Witness for the Prosecution & Other Stories, and Christie's take has been adapted numerous times for the stage, film, and television, including in a well-remembered 1957 movie starring Tyrone Power, Marlene Dietrich, and Charles Laughton.
Directing and set designing Witness for the Prosecution is Playcrafters veteran Victor Angelo, who appeared in such productions as Proposals and Marrying Terry, and who, in 2019, took on the Jack Nicholson role of Randall McMurphy in the Richmond Hill Barn Theatre's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Leonard Vole is portrayed by Bobby Metcalf in his Playcrafters debut, Romaine is played by Barn Theatre alum Shyan DeVoss (who also appeared in Agatha Christie's A Murder Is Announced last season), and Angelo's cast is completed by Storm Marie Baca (also the show's costume designer), Suzanne Braswell, Guy Cabell, Pam Martz Cantrell, Cassie Dowell, Don Faust, Valerie Hansel, Tyler Henning, Kevin Keck, Nathan Lundberg, and Makis Witt. And with Jim Strauss serving as stage manager, additional members of Angelo's creative team include lighting designer Philip Cathoir, lighting engineer Jaden Perkins, prop master Vickie Underwood, sound designer Eric Teeter, sound engineer David Perkins, and poster designer Katie Newport.
Witness for the Prosecution runs at Moline's Barn Theatre September 1 through 4, with performances Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday and Monday at 3 p.m. Admission is $13-15, and more information and tickets are available by calling (309)762-0330 and visiting Playcrafters.com.
