Review: MURDER AFTER HOURS at Lonny Chapman Theatre

Agatha Christie is an icon in the world of murder mysteries, having penned classic novels like “And Then There Were None,” “Murder on the Orient Express,” and “Death on the Nile” and selling more than two million books, making her the best-selling fiction writer of all time. She also wrote for the stage, including “The Mousetrap,” the longest-running play in history, having been performed in London’s West End since 1952, interrupted only when Covid struck.

One novel, “The Hollow,” a country-house mystery/melodrama, was turned into a stage play called MURDER AFTER HOURS (named after its American title). In September 1951, a well-to-do family, their servants, some extended family members, and friends gather for a weekend at an estate overseen by the flummoxed Sir Henry Angkatell (John Combs) and his wife, absent-minded, dotty Lucy (Dani Thompson). When a glamorous movie star, Veronica Craye (Gina Yates), drops in unexpectedly, she sets off a chain of events that leads to murder.

The show, while a murder mystery, is just as much a soap opera, which works both for and against it. We get well-drawn characters and relationships, but at three hours, the runtime pushes patience. It takes its time getting all the pieces on the chess board, so the second act starts to sag a bit. A few of the subplots could be trimmed to move the proceedings along a little more briskly while still giving us time to get involved in the world. Another interesting aspect to the whodunit is that there is much humor to offset the bittersweet qualities of memory and regret that permeate much of the story.

Director Jules Aaron gets fantastic, nuanced performances from all of the players, each making their character their own no matter how small the role. Meghan Lewis as Henry’s headstrong cousin Henrietta is a standout, a cross between Katharine Hepburn and Keira Knightley at their best. Thompson also deserves praise for the way she can play both innocent and cutting, brandishing withering barbs like a rapier. Roslyn Cohn as a put-upon wife brings a sympathetic spine of steel to a character who could be interpreted as weak or dishwater. And Joe Clabby as a bachelor cousin expresses the immensity of heartbreak so well you may feel your own heart breaking. Dialect coach Linda Brennen gets believable British accents out of the whole cast, a tricky feat.

The handsome, stately set by Chris Winfield and the lighting design by Frank McKown are excellent, both functional and setting the right mood. The garden room in which all of the action takes place has four doors — three of which are full of windows leading

outside or to a sunroom doubling as a sculptor’s studio — giving a sense of the space being larger than it is. The costumes by Shon Le Blanc are of fantastic quality. You can see how superior the craftsmanship is down to the smallest detail. The same can be said for Judi Lewin’s makeup, hair, and wig design. Each character is uniquely styled to express who they are and where they are in the social strata.

While a bit overlong, MURDER AFTER HOURS is exquisitely well done and will keep you guessing up until the affecting and surprising end. It’s well worth spending an evening in the British countryside among the snipes and snubs of the upper class at the Lonny Chapman.

MURDER AFTER HOURS is performed at the Lonny Chapman Theatre, 10900 Burbank Boulevard in North Hollywood, through September 8. 

Photo Credit: Doug Engalla

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