Suspense Meets Humor in Lazy Susan's 'Appointment With Death'

Wendy Wilmer plays the domineering Mrs. Boynton, who bends her stepson Raymond (Dave Joria) to her will, as Dr. Sarah King (Elizabeth Parsons) watches from the background. (By Hans Bachmann)

The rustic Lazy Susan Dinner Theatre was jammed to the rafters on the Saturday before Valentine's Day because, really, what better way is there to say "I love you" than to take your cherished one to an "Appointment With Death"?

Actually, it was a good choice, as this production of the Agatha Christie whodunit turns out to be a stylishly acted romp offering both suspense and laughs. Suspense and laughs? Romance!

Director Hans Bachmann's light touch with this mystery serves it well and helps gloss over structural weaknesses. "Appointment With Death" is one of Dame Agatha's lesser works, but Bachmann's 14-member cast creates an interesting tone that captures and holds the audience. That was especially challenging when the large Saturday night crowd caused the mid-show intermission to drag on for more than 40 minutes. (This is dinner theater, so final drinks and coffee are poured and checks are issued during intermission, with cast members augmenting the wait staff.) It was almost 11:30 p.m. before the mystery was solved and the applause faded, but the date-night audience seemed thoroughly rapt until the end.

Those familiar with the 1938 novel or the 1988 film will expect a Hercule Poirot mystery. However, fearing overexposure for her distinctive character, Christie removed the Belgian detective from the 1945 stage version. She also changed the identity of the killer, which makes for a highly unlikely ending.

Removing Poirot was risky. There is a definite vacuum created by story development in the second act. The empty space could easily have been filled by the famously eccentric sleuth, but Christie gambled that she could keep things interesting with lesser characters and by tossing in a number of red herrings. Thanks to some strong performances here, the gamble pays off.

"Appointment With Death" is set during a Holy Land tour in 1937, taking us first to the busy lobby of the King Solomon Hotel in Jerusalem, then to a sightseeing camp at Petra. The tour group is primarily composed of British and American travelers, making for an interesting mix of accents.

The Americans are mostly members of the odd Boynton family. The domineering matriarch, Mrs. Boynton (Wendy Wilmer), has an eerie, vicelike grip on her grown stepchildren. From the mentally unstable Ginevra (Missy Ann Wilmoth) and hangdog Raymond (Dave Joria) to diffident Lennox (Christopher Lee Damanda) and his frustrated wife, Nadine (Kylie McLean), they all seem to be under some strange spell. But Raymond starts to wake up when he meets and falls for lovely Sarah King (Elizabeth Parsons), an insightful English doctor, whose steely resolve compels her to match wits and wills with Mrs. Boynton.

The intrigue begins, and somebody ends up dead. Bachmann has most of the cast play it pretty straight, although Wilmer goes slightly over the top as the villainous Mrs. Boynton. Wilmer revels in the acid comments, which she augments with evil glowers and smug satisfaction. It's a meaty role, and she goes at it with everything but the steak sauce, making her the audience favorite. Parsons vividly combines sexual allure with intelligence as Dr. King, while McLean is low-key but effectively reveals there is much bubbling below the resigned expression on her face. These are rich performances.

Several of the Brits, most notably Cathy Kidwell as ridiculously haughty Lady Westholme and Jan Forbes as irrepressible Alderman Higgs, are portrayed to the hilt for laughs. Jeffrey Bryce Davidson goes for authenticity as by-the-book Colonel Carbury in the detective role, as Bachmann's formula mixes menace and levity to appealing effect.

Now, if Lazy Susan could get some of the buzz out of the sound system and into the watery coffee, there would be nothing to quibble about.

"Appointment With Death" continues through March 18 at the Lazy Susan Dinner Theatre, Route 1 at Furnace Road, Woodbridge. Performances follow dining, with showtimes at 8 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays, 8:30 p.m. Saturdays and 7:30 p.m. Sundays. For reservations or dining information, call 703-550-7384 or visithttp://www.lazysusan.com.