And Then There Were None at Renton Civic

Everyone is guilty of something ... 

You know those birthday cards you get from your office co-workers, the ones that have a picture on the front of a wacky collection of characters – there they all are, in all their weird uniqueness.
The opening scene of Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None at Renton Civic Theatre is like that. And it’s great.
This murder mystery opens with a sort of butler and maid (already there are suspects!) preparing an island home for an important event. Then the guests begin to arrive in small groups.
It’s a delicious kind of exposition. You get a little bit of time to take in the whole personality of each of them. After all eight arrive and, along with the butler and maid, stand there arrayed across the stage, you have your complete greeting card tableau.
When one of their number drops dead, and they realize their lives are on the line, they go at each other.
Perhaps more than the mystery itself, it’s this clash of personalities that makes this show work.
I compare it to the classic film Night of the Living Dead, which is not really about zombies roaming western Pennsylvania, but about how people beset by zombies react. In both cases, the answer is not well.
Christie’s script gives every character time to shine and each actor takes advantage, none more so than Adam Granato as louche Philip Lombard and Julia Kuzmich as proper Vera Claythorne.
Most characters in mysteries stay on the surface. The characters here get to dive deep into the dark side of humanity.
Everyone is guilty of something, to some degree. Joshua Erme as fast car loving Anthony Marston stands out for the character’s shockingly cavalier attitude on life and death. Angela Marith’s deeply pious Emily Brent can’t look past her bible to see the damage she’s done.
Jalyn Green and Olivia Robinson as the butler and maid, Mr. and Mrs. Rogers seem to feel money makes it better and share one conscience between them.
Eric Hartley as judge Lawrence Wargrave and Bruce Erickson as Dr. Armstrong eventually spool out their unpleasant secrets, which when revealed, are (maybe?) not really a surprise given the way the characters have been played.
Tadd Morgan brings some strong, over-the-top comedy as would-be South African William Blore. And Dale Bowers as elderly General Mackenzie has some actually chilling moments hallucinating about his past in a scene with Vera Claythorne.
And then there is one more actor, Jamie Park, who plays Fred Narracot, a boatman who takes these people across the water to their fates, if that's not too on-the-nose. His hands are not entirely clean either, I guess.
Credit to director Kim Douthit for forming this eclectic collection of characters into a unified whole and keeping the action rolling forward to its energetic conclusion.
And Then There Were None plays through May 4 in Renton.
Photo by me of the set.

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