River City Players to stage Agatha Christie's 'The Rats' next week

Agatha Christie lovers and just plain mystery fans will want to head to downtown Cape Girardeau next week to see River City Players’ latest production.

Marie Meunier as Sandra, left, and Chrissie Shay as Jennifer rehearse a scene from the Agatha Christie mystery "The Rats."flynch@ semissourian.com

The play, “The Rats,” is a psychological thriller and promises the twists and turns for which Christie is known, according to River City Players board member Holly Raines, who is directing the show.

“The Rats” — which has nothing to do with rodents, by the way, but about a couple having an affair — is a bit of a departure for River City Players; the shows they usually produce are either family-friendly or farces.

“That’s not to say this one is not family-friendly, but it is a mystery,” Raines said.

Marie Meunier as Sandra and Jordan Bates as David rehearse a scene from the Agatha Christie mystery "The Rats," to be presented by River City Players from Thursday through April 10 at Port Cape Girardeau.Fred Lynch

Christie penned the play in 1962, and it was published along with two other short plays under the name “Rule of Three.”

Christie has been heralded as one of the most popular writers of mystery series, and during her career, she wrote 79 books and 19 plays. Her books have sold more than a billion copies in English and another billion in 44 foreign languages.

Another distinction about the play is it will last only an hour, as opposed to most of the other shows, which run two hours.

Marie Meunier as Sandra and Jordan Bates as David rehearse a scene from the Agatha Christie mystery "The Rats," to be presented by River City Players from Thursday through April 10 at Port Cape Girardeau.Fred Lynch

Raines said “The Rats” was much easier to put together because it is shorter and required less time rehearsing.

“A short play means we don’t have to rehearse three or four nights a week for two hours,” she said. “We could do it rehearsing two nights a week for an hour.”

Though she has acted in different productions, this is Raines’ first foray into directing a play with River City Players, and the fact it was a one-act show factored into her decision to direct “The Rats.”

“It’s a small cast and a short play, so that appealed to me,” she said.

Raines said because there are fewer actors in this show, she’s had the opportunity to get to know them better than she could with a large cast.

The play is set in a flat in England, so the actors have been busy perfecting their British accents.

In the play, the couple who own the flat are world travelers, so the walls will be decorated with all kinds of eclectic décor that will be fun to see, Raines said.

Two of the four actors are new to River City Players, and having new cast members along with more established ones in the same production adds a lot of variety, she said.

“It’s always nice to have a mixture of old and new actors,” Raines said.

Chrissie Shay plays the part of Jennifer, and Larry Davis is cast as Alec. Marie Meunier plays Sandra, and Jordan Bates plays David. Meunier and Bates are the newest members.

Jordan Bates as David and Marie Meunier as Sandra rehearse a scene from the Agatha Christie mystery "The Rats," to be presented by River City Players from Thursday through April 10 at Port Cape Girardeau.Fred Lynch

“They are not brand-new to the theater experience,” Raines said.

The show will be performed at Port Cape Girardeau restaurant, 19 N. Water St., in the Yacht Club upstairs. All shows are served with some good eats prepared by chef James Cain.

The curtain goes up at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, with dessert served at 7 p.m.

Marie Meunier as Sandra, Larry Davis as Alec and Jordan Bates as David rehearse a scene from the Agatha Christie mystery "The Rats," to be presented by River City Players from Thursday through April 10 at Port Cape Girardeau.Fred Lynch

At 6:30 p.m. April 8 and 9, a buffet-style dinner will be served, which also includes dessert, and the play begins at 7:30 p.m.

The April 10 matinee performance will start at 2 p.m., with dessert at 1:30 p.m.

Tickets are $20 for the dessert shows Thursday and April 10. The dinner performances are $35.

The venue seats about 75 people, and Raines encouraged those who want to see the show to call for reservations.

“I always tell people if they really want to see the play, they need to call and make reservations, because we’ve had to turn people away at the door,” she said.

For reservations, call (573) 334-0954.

Pertinent address:

19 N. Water St., Cape Girardeau, Mo.