It was a sunny and bright day, but murder was in the air. We were at the Alley Theatre, and its cast was performing Agatha Christie’s “The Murder of Roger Ackroyd.”
It was a nice mix of people, LEAP Ambassadors, LEAP alumni, and “friends of LEAP” together for an enjoyable afternoon. With lunch at Post Houston, a new favorite recommended by LEAP alum Will Phillips, we caught up, talked about classes, and explored food from multiple continents.
But we had come to Houston for the play, and it was something of a process to actually see the play. Many of us had read the book, with at least half of us stopping before the end so as to not spoil the “whodunit” aspect of the performance. In July, we attended a Murder by the Book presentation by Mark Shanahan, the play’s director, a presentation that left us even more excited.
Unfortunately, when we drove to our scheduled performance, the Alley had to cancel the showing because a cast member wasn’t available!
So, with more than a month of anticipation and at least one false start, we were more than usually ready for the play to begin.
And it did not disappoint. It was expertly adapted to the stage by Shanahan, with clever techniques of compressing time and space.
It was humorous, with a wonderful cast that included two SHSU alums (Dylan Godwin and Melissa Pritchett)!
During intermission, we speculated as to who the culprit might be. Victoria couldn’t identify a key suspect; Nick, with all the creativity he could muster, thought “the butler did it;” and Katherine thought that the house staff conspired together to kill their employer, Roger Ackroyd. (If I were Katherine’s employer, I’d lock the doors at night.) Morgan, whose literary tastes lean toward bodice-ripping romance, had trouble keeping up with the characters and the narrative. She nodded a lot as we discussed things.
The second act was delightful, with more humor and variation in pacing. The plot, as they say, thickened, ending with all the cast gathered together to identify the murderer. We will, of course, stop there, and engage in no spoilers. But it surprised all of us–with the exception of Olivia, who, when it was over said, “I knew it all along” to an incredulous group and an ever-nodding Morgan.
Kudos to the cast of the Alley, the timeless appeal of Hercule Poirot, and the camaraderie of LEAP students, present and past.
Center for Law, Engagement, and Politics 