A mystery at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival

People not from around these parts tend to sniff at the thought that Alabama has a Shakespeare Festival. They imagine it’s some fly-by-night company that performs in a tent down by the river. Well, take a look at this . . .

Does this crank your tractor? When we love something, we do it right, and it just so happens, Alabamians adore fine theatre. Actually, we crave it, darlin’.

It had been a few years since I’d visited the Alabama Shakespeare Festival, and I was experiencing big-theatre withdrawal symptoms, so my dearest husband whisked me up the road a piece to Montgomery to see the opening night of their newest play, a fabulous Agatha Christie work . . . The Mousetrap!

I thought this play, billed as a true Agatha Christie “who-done-it” would be mysterious and serious, but in reality, it was loaded with humor and quirky fun. Each actor took turns being my favorite on stage, as well as the one I suspected of  . . . well, I don’t want to spoil it for you, now do I?

The costumes and stage were beautiful, and the snow falling outside the window mesmerized all of us Southerners. The ASF produces high quality productions throughout the year, with a mix of true Shakespearian plays, classic and new works, as well as popular children’s plays. The night we were there, Charlotte’s Web was playing at the smaller theatre down the hall. I would have dearly loved to have seen that as well.

In the photo above, the beautiful Jenny Strassburg and Jackson Thompson portray the sweet newlyweds . . . or are they really hiding a secret? Oooo!  In real life, Jenny is actually married to Loren Dunn, who is lounging on the table in the previous photo, and stole the show with his charismatic expressions.

After the performance, the actors gathered for an opening night reception in the lobby with the audience. This little girl was adorable, bravely approaching all of the actors and asking them questions. She stole my heart with her pearls and exquisite manners. Here, actor Brik Berkes, who was wonderful as the heavily accented and charmingly funny Mr. Paravacini, fills his little fan in on behind-the-scene details.

And to compliment a play called, “The Mousetrap,” what did they serve, but cheese and little chocolate mice!

Here I am with the amazing Diana Von Fossen, who appeared on stage as the stuffy Mrs. Boyle. Such an elegant beauty in real life and so powerful on the stage. It was great to learn she is married to the Producing Artistic Director of ASF, Geoffery Sherman. Another fun fact is their daughter, Alice Sherman, played the role of Miss Caswell and will portray my all-time favorite next year . . . Mary Poppins! I must-must-must get back to Montgomery for that!

Here’s Diana in character. Was she the guilty one? Was she the victim? You’ll have to see the play yourself to find out!

Here, Lowell Byers and Alice Sherman dazzle the audience with their rapid-fire dialogue. At one point, one of the characters said something like, “I think I know who is responsible” and the man seated in front of me was so wrapped up in the play, he literally lifted his hand and pointed at one of the characters on stage, as if he were part of the play and helping them solve the mystery! That’s a fine example of, “drawing the audience in!”

The endearing Rodney Clark rounded out the eight member cast and lent an air of wisdom and stability to the chaotic characters.

You know what I’m going to say now, because I’ve said it before . . . why not ditch the TV for a night and do something different? Live theatre is so exciting, and life is made for experiencing new things!

If you live in our area, a trip to Montgomery to see a performance at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival is a must. We stayed at The Renaissance Hotel, which was beautiful, and it made for a lovely get-away. If you live out of our area, I know you have local theatre somewhere near you, so don’t wait, get your tickets now!

Click HERE to learn more about the Alabama Shakespeare Festival.