By Lynnette Jackson and Jack Marquez

This October, the legendary mystery author Agatha Christie takes center stage in a can’t-miss Theatreworks SIlicon Valley production! Written by Heidi Armbuster and directed by Giovanna Sardelli, Mrs. Christie deftly weaves together parallel stories of the titular author and a modern-day Christie fan as they reach turning points in their lives.

At October 7th’s press opening, we were introduced to Jennifer Le Blanc’s Christie amongst a full house at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts Theater. The year is 1926, and through Agatha, her husband Col. Archie Christie (Aldo Billingslea) and her secretary and confidant Charlotte (Elissa Beth Stebbins), we see a marriage in crisis. An emotional confrontation between the couple ends in a devastating ultimatum, and Agatha faces an impossible choice that could mean the end of her writing career. Through this confrontation and the resulting turmoil, Le Blanc’s heartfelt portrayal of a woman at her breaking point expertly toes the line between vulnerability and respect for the real-life author, endearing her to the entire crowd.

Still within the walls of the Christie residence, but nearly 100 years into the future, we meet Nicole Javier’s Lucy. A young mystery enthusiast and Christie superfan, Lucy can hardly contain her excitement when she discovers a lost notebook in the author’s own handwriting during an Agatha Christie festival. The dates in the notebook coincide with Agatha’s two-week  disappearance in December 1926¹—a real-life event that inspires speculation to this day. Armed with the potential to reveal what actually transpired during those mysterious days, Lucy sets off on a Christie-esque investigation of her own.

With only nine actors (including an audience-favorite canine performer), every cast member has a chance to shine. Lead performers aside, Mrs. Christie’s two other standouts portray supporting characters recognizable to every Christie fan. Lucinda Hitchcock Cone plays Lucy’s elderly sidekick Jane, whose unassuming demeanor and meandering stories about “people in her village” are decidedly Ms. Marple-esque. While much of her contributions are welcome comic relief, Jane’s insightful truth-telling also provide some of Mrs. Christie’s tenderest moments. In an even more on-the-nose Christie character tribute, William Thomas Hodgson delighted the audience with an appropriately hammy but heartfelt portrayal of “Le Detective,” i.e. Hercule Poirot. Perhaps Christie’s most enduring invention, Le Detective  appears in Agatha’s timeline as a manifestation of her logical side. It’s clear that Hodgson was having the most fun on stage (aside from perhaps the dog), but he should also be applauded for his performance at the play’s climax, as he and Christie grapple both emotionally and physically with her feelings of grief, loneliness, and self-doubt.

In addition to these themes, Mrs. Christie also addresses the challenges women face while balancing work, family life, and mental wellbeing. While Agatha’s struggles take place in the 1920s, these issues are still relevant as ever. Women are still defending their right to work and be treated as equally valuable human beings across the globe². In the US, reproductive rights are constantly being challenged and women are still earning a fraction of what men earn in the workplace—all while carrying the mental burdens of calculating whether they can have both a family and a successful career^2-3. Regardless of what women choose to do with their lives, numerous studies have shown that women end up doing significantly more “invisible” labor to keep their homes and workplaces running smoothly³.

At its core, Mrs. Christie asks: how do you continue living while grieving the loss of a relationship or a loved one? While Agatha and Lucy might live in different times and struggle in different ways, their unique perspectives and inner strengths provide insights to help each other carry on. As a great story should, the stories of these two women include lessons to take out of the theater and into our own lives; lessons about the ways we can care for one another, and ways we can care for ourselves.

We applaud Mrs. Christie for its heartfelt themes, its intriguing plot, its gorgeous set designs, and its diverse cast. TheatreWorks Silicon Valley also deserves kudos for its accessibility efforts, including assistive listening devices at every performance. Though they weren’t featured at our showing, TheatreWorks also offers open captioning, live audio description, American Sign Language interpretation, and masked performances on select dates, which can be found at theatreworks.org/accessibility. These are fantastic to see, as we wholeheartedly recommend the play to any theater, mystery, and/or Agatha Christie fan! (We will, however, add a disclaimer that the play includes some adult language and themes, so parents of young ones should take that into consideration.) Mrs. Christie runs until October 29th  at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, so reserve your seats soon because unlike Agatha in 1926, these tickets will disappear for good!

Photo Credit: Kevin Berne

References:

1. Jordan, Tina. “When the world’s most famous mystery writer vanished.” The New York Times, 11 June 2019, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/11/books/agatha-christie-vanished-11-days-1926.html?searchResultPosition=4
2. Aragao, Carolina. “Gender pay gap in the US hasn’t changed much in two decades.” Pew Research Center, 1 March 2023, https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/03/01/gender-pay-gap-facts/
3. Drevitch, Gary. “Women carry most of the mental load of running a household.” Psychology Today, 10 November 2021, https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/evidence-based-living/202111/women-carry-most-the-mental-load-running-household