The last two times Open Stage performed plays centered on Agatha Christie’s least favorite character, the fastidious Frenchman Hercule Poirot, I watched his trademark cocked eyebrow and Mr. Potato Head mustache through the lens of a YouTube video.
While this reviewer tries to be careful not to compare plays, even reprisals, being in the theater in person to meet Inspector Poirot was a privilege and a joy—so much better than watching him on video in my slippers while eating pandemically trendy homemade sourdough bread.
Directed by and starring Stuart Landon as the straitlaced Poirot, Open Stage’s live version of the mystery/comedy farce “Poirot Investigates!” brings forth elements that cameras miss, aside from the obvious facial expressions and stage movements. Even an HD camera would have only skimmed the velvety texture of Poirot’s plum-colored blazer, or the detailed patterns of the ugliest neckties in all of England. And without a filter, I got to see just how absurdly shiny that mustache really is.
Open Stage brings us smart theater with “Poirot Investigates!” Much like reading a book, you’ll need to rely on your imagination for the literary elements of props, setting and even some costume elements. The bibliophiles among us, and my mother who grounded me from TV for one long summer, would argue that whatever is going on in your brain is way better than how it would have looked onscreen.
Stuart Landon pulls the pretentious Poirot off the page and shuffles him onstage with his aristocratic air, his quirky idiosyncrasies, and his ability to simultaneously look down both sides of his snoot. He’s perpetually inconvenienced and flustered when interacting with anyone, with a sneer that indicates something more displeasing going on under his nose, other than his mustache. If Poirot smiles, it’s because he’s pleased with himself; it’s not to connect with his audience. He’s far too busy for you.
Poirot’s sidekick Captain Arthur Hastings (Chris Gibson) has an important role, delivering the plot points in Christie’s long-form narrative style, keeping that fourth wall perpetually broken. Gibson’s evident stage presence fuels the onstage momentum as a reliable narrator, a classic straight man archetype who mostly sets up gags for everyone else and still manages to get a few yuks for himself.
The other 12 characters, with mostly goofy and alliterative names, are played by the versatile and talented actors David Richwine and Rachel Landon. Seriously, you need a spreadsheet app and a certain amount of focus to track who’s who and when. There’s some head-hopping and gender-bending, so throw out your rulebook on typecasting characters and just go with it.
To help the audience distinguish the play’s many characters (without using props!), Richwine and Rachel quite skillfully use mannerisms, gestures, body posturing and accents. Some accents are recognizable, and others are muddled accents of dubious origins, adding to the farce.
Rachel’s dexterous use of her body and space enable her to bring more than one character onstage at a time. (It’s a visual, so a long-winded explanation from me won’t do. You’ll have to see the play yourself to truly appreciate her skill.) I laughed hardest when she portrayed an ancient hotel clerk wearing the show’s only prop: a pair of Iris Apfel glasses.
Richwine brings silliness to breakout character mobster Johnny “Two Fingers” Grasso, with running gags just north of goofy. Additionally, he shows real skill in prop-lessly pulling off the farcical element of making two identical characters different enough in a case of mistaken identity.
An unseen and underlying main character is the background music (original score by Nicholas Werner). The music interacts with the actors, animates the many long-running gags, keeps the action moving along, and lays down clues for the audience about onstage antics. The music is clever, conveying the play’s many moods while heightening the slapstick.
I confess, I do like that the play’s action and dialogue moved along swiftly. I’m very American like that. But along with that quicker pacing, some of the awkwardness and stilted elegance that characterize both British and French humor lose themselves along the plot line.
Poirot’s narcissistic nature would have him requiring a few more stage-commanding pauses to drive home the more control-freaky aspects of his character. While Landon does integrate all of Poirot’s priggishness, I think stopping or slowing the action to watch Poirot partake in his mundane rituals, complete with his obnoxiously tedious mannerisms, would have added to fleshing out his character more fully. (I’m well aware that adding this very set of actions would have infuriated other people in the audience. But that’s Poirot for you. One reason Christie grew to hate the very character she created.)
The slapstick humor, absurd wordplay, running gags, light potty humor, and the other silly balderdash all make “Poirot Investigates!” a fun performance worth seeing in person. Even a dead body in the middle of the room can’t bring it down.
“Poirot Investigates!” runs May 27 through June 17 at Open Stage, 25 N. Court St., Harrisburg. For more information and tickets, visit www.openstagehbg.com/show/poirot.
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