Michele Bravo's Seduction

The Sweetwater Little Theater was putting on a production of The Mousetrap - the famous play written by Agatha Christie over 60 years ago and still running in the West End. It was also a popular regional theater favorite, and high school drama clubs also staged it frequently as well.

Anne Greenstreet, who was new in the town of Sweetwater, had seen The Mousetrap in the West End just two years ago, when she and her Theater Club from high school had made the trip over to London to see several plays. They'd seen the highbrow ones - a couple of Shakespeare productions - Hamlet and King Henry V, and then a "popular" play - The Mousetrap. It had been The Mousetrap that Ann had loved, and that had spring-boarded both an interest in the theatre and an interest in mysteries.

Anne hadn't joined the Theatre Club because she'd been interested in theatre, but because she knew the Theatre Club got to go on a trip to England every year. The club had spent its time analyzing dry texts and watching plays on TV - she'd never seen an actual production until that London trip. 

Now, at age 20,  she was just starting college in Sweetwater - a town a hundred miles west of her tiny hometown Rogers, of and it seemed like an omen, that the city's - well, large town, really - sole theatre group was putting on a production of that same play.

Ann rode her bike from her dorm to the theater. Sweetwater was bike-friendly and there were bike racks everywhere - including in front of the Sweetwater Little Theatre.

After locking her bike into the bike rack, Anne entered the theater. A young, rather handsome man in costume and makeup - he was wearing a garish blue suit with a red tie - was taking tickets. Anne handed him hers. HE smiled at her brightly, tore the ticket in half and handed back the stub, and said, "Enjoy the show."

Anne returned the smile and continued on into the foyer. That had to be the actor playing Christopher Wren. He was kind of cute.

She looked around the foyer. Other costumed-and-makeup people were standing behind a counter selling drinks and chocolates, and others were handing out programs.

A small theatre indeed, thought Anne, when the actors had to do double-duty as spear-carriers. Or would these front-of-house people be referred to as myrmidons?

Anyway, she didn't see anyone who could be Detective Sergeant Trotter. When she'd seen the play in England, Trotter and Wren had been her two favorite characters.

Anne bought a can of cold Pepsi and took it with her into the auditorium. Then she settled down to wait for the play to start.



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This story and its plot copyright 2012 by Caroline Miniscule