By SHARON EBERSON
Exquisitely presented and performed by an illustrious cast, Kinetic Theatre’s The Murder of Roger Ackroyd invites everyone, even those who arrive knowing the “who” in whodunit, to relish in a pitch-perfect reimagining of the classic Agatha Christie mystery.
Playwright Mark Shanahan and Andrew Paul have got a good thing going when it comes to stage adaptations of England’s most revered mystery solvers. Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes has been a boon for Paul’s Kinetic Theatre in the past, and they enter the win column again with grande dame Christie’s Hercule Poirot and one of his best-known cases.
There was no detriment to knowing the 1926 novel front to back, just as there is only pleasure in seeing a play by Shakespeare and Shaw given crisp and delectable new life.
The twists start when you enter, as the Carnegie Stage black box has been flipped for the first time in memory, the better to stretch Johnmichael Bohach’s proscenium set. Lighting designer Andrew David Ostrowski is up to the challenging design, drawing attention across the expanse, and setting an eerie mood throughout. A particularly memorable freeze frame has Sam Tsoutsouvas, as Poirot, seated downstage to open the second act, with the full cast lined up behind him, their grim faces half in shadow.
It is no mystery that Roger Ackroyd represents the largest and most expensive production for Kinetic Theatre. The cast of 12 is outfitted in 1920s period costumes, on the elaborate set, including a staircase and enough entry/exit points to fuel a farce.
Among the frequent Kinetic performers and several recent Point Park University graduates, is one welcome newcomer to Pittsburgh, Christopher Kelly, a stage and screen actor known by Paul and actor David Whalen from productions at Gulfshore Playhouse in Naples, Florida.
Kelly plays the likable Dr. James Sheppard, our narrator and on whom we rely for many facts — a Watson to Tsoutsouvas’ Poirot. The great Belgian detective has retired to the quiet country life, and arrives as the doctor’s neighbor, only to be pulled into a murder case.
A source of information for Poirot and Sheppard is the latter’s sister (Sheila McKenna), who blithely fills them in on the gossip in fictional King’s Abbot, an apparent hotbed of intrigue, mostly emanating from the manor house of the title victim, Roger Ackroyd (Darren Eliker).
There are motives galore, love and money chief among them. But Inspector Raglan (Simon Bradbury) settles on the MIA Captain Ralph Paton (Nai’Ron Arnett), whose absence seems to him an admission of guilt. The back-and-forth between Tsoutsouvas and Bradbury gives off Sherlock Holmes-Inspector Lestrade feels.
At the murder scene, there are no shortages of motives and secrets, among the butler (James FitzGerald), secretary (Brandi Welle), parlor maid (Jandi Linde), houseguest (Whalen), Roger’s niece, Flora (Mia Leverne), who is engaged to Ralph, and Flora’s widowed mother, Cecil, played by Helena Ruoti, who enters in a swirl of ruffles and outrage, wringing laughs and awe out of her neediness.
The presence of McKenna and Ruoti, who most recently shared a stage in the relatively quiet of Infinite Life for barebones productions, spotlight their talents for comedy and drama, and as longtime Pittsburgh audience favorites. Likewise FitzGerald and Bradbury, who have each played Dr. Watson to Whalen’s Holmes. It’s a thrill to watch as each digs into their distinctive characters, a Christie mix where even the most innocent-seeming among them could be a killer.
The typical red-herrings and hints to the killer’s identity are deliciously rolled out, a feast for Christie fans to see these actors strut and fret in such an intimate setting.
Sitting in a centrally located seat, there were times the wide stage made for a bit of a tennis match, stretching to see the action at the farthest points, as actors served and volleyed.
A friend and Agatha Christie superfan was effusive in his praise of Tsoutsouvas’ portrayal of Poirot, weighed down by the horror he has seen, in search of a hobby for his retirement, but steadfast in his mission for truth and justice in the case of Roger Ackroyd.
As the self-proclaimed greatest detective in the world would say, Kinetic Theatre has put a multitude of “little gray cells” to good use, in creating a classic production of a classic story.
TICKETS AND DETAILS
Kinetic Theatre’s professional premiere of The Murder of Roger Ackroyd is at Carnegie Stage, 25 West Main St., Carnegie, August 6-30, 2026. Tickets: https://events.leapevents.com/event/the-murder-of-roger-ackroyd.
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