Murder Mystery Theater

It has been awhile since a thriller has graced the Rialto, so I reached out to theatrical works past for murders committed on stage.

THE WORKS

The Mousetrap by Agatha Christie premiered in 1952.

Locked room whodunnit

In manor. Nods at self and

Plays up shuffling roles.

Sleuth by Anthony Shaffer premiered in 1970.

Ex invites wife's new 

Beau. To kill? Play with? Twists tire.

What is partnership?

Deathtrap by Ira Levin premiered in 1978. 

Meta thriller: old

Author invites new. To kill?

Collaborate with?

Getting Away with Murder by Stephen Sondheim and George Furth premiered in 1996.

Plods, mechanical.

Murder in group therapy.

Power is a sin.

NOTES

SETTING

"The Mousetrap" - Great Hall of Monkswell Manor, snowbound

"Sleuth" - A manor house in Wiltshire

"Deathtrap" - A house in the woods in Westport Connecticut

"Getting Away with Murder" - A psychiatrist's office

The more isolated the setting the better - as in "The Mousetrap" and "Deathtrap." One reason "Getting Away with Murder" does not work is because it relies on too many contrivances to isolate a group in an urban setting: elevators (one shaft conveniently out of order), key restrictions to the bathroom and the office.

LIGHTS OFF / ON

"The Mousetrap" set the cliche for murders during blackouts, a staple of murder-mystery weekends. (See "The Golden Girls" Season 7 Episode 1: "The Case of the Libertine Belle.) In the latter works, the murders take place in full view onstage. Christie's play is a whodunnit and the rest are whydunnits. 

META

"The Mousetrap" still holds up and "Deathtrap" even more so. They are meta-thrillers. Near the end of the first act in "The Mousetrap" Mr. Paravicini acknowledges the play's contrivance after the last character arrives at the manor. 

"Deathtrap" is a play that revolves around a play called "Deathrap" - a thriller in two acts with 5 characters. The characters self-reference the actions that the audience sees. It's like having the lights turned on the whole time, making the twists more surprising.

Part of the reason why I like "Deathtrap" is because it summoned Marian Seldes' spirit. She played Myra Bruhl and appeared in all 1,793 performances (or 1,809 depending on your source) of "Deathtrap." That's 5 years of perfect attendance, a feat she modestly cut down during an interview in Theater Talk saying, "I wasn't really in the play for 5 years. I was in the play for sort of two and a half."

MCU

Near the end of John Boyne's "The Heart's Invisible Furies," a teenager exhorts his grandfather to watch a superhero movie with him and at the end of it he offers to give him a box set to view so that it will all make sense. This no doubt refers to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). 

The first one was "Iron Man" (2008, dir. Jon Favreau) and the most recent one (as of this writing) is "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2" (2017, dir. James Gunn). It was with "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" (2014, dir. Anthony and Joe Russo) when these movies lifted off the genre for me. They have the ability to subvert themes into the genre, much the way Douglas Sirk stuffed all his subversions in his later melodramas, and reflect the current times.

Included in this group is "Logan" (2017, dir. James Mangold), which is not officially part of the MCU, but is a Marvel property. It is also an outstanding synthesis of the western and the superhero genre. 

I have not seen them all (16 so far). And maybe I'll listen to the grandson in Boyne's book and start from the beginning. 

Iron Man 

(2008, dir. Jon Favreau) 

War profiteer's heart

Replaced. Reflects feeling to 

End Bush era wars.

Doctor Strange

(2016, dir. Scott Derrickson)

Doctor journeys east,

Turns wizard. White-washing mars

Mind-blowing effects.

Spider-Man: Homecoming

(2017, dir. Jon Watts)

Spidey as eighties

High school comedy. Keaton's 

Vulture airborne high.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

(2017, dir. James Gunn)

Quill meets dad, true blood

Disappoints. Tribe of misfits

Better family.

Logan

(2017, dir. James Mangold)

"X-men" grows up, blends

Genres, cribs "Shane." Future

Mutants, true country.

"Nabucco" to "Aida" - via Egitto

Exploring the 2016-2017 Met Opera season ... Decided to look at Verdi's "Nabucco" and "Aida" together. In the process, discovered Rossini's Moses operas and that all four share DNA strands.

THE WORKS

"Nabucco" premiered in 1841.

"Abigail" steals crown,

Thunderstruck king converted;

Lear-light Verdi work.

Program notes cite Rossini's "Mose in Egitto" as a major influence on the work.

"Mose in Egitto" premiered in 1818.

Vick updates Moses

to Syria, migrant crisis.

Sacred score sublime.

Rossini later transformed the work to:

"Moise et Pharaon," which premiered in Paris in 1827.

Revised in French

By Rossini, the music 

More meditative.

30 years after "Nabucco," "Aida" marched on the opera stage.

Verdi triangles

Abound. Slave's love conflicts with

Patriotic love.

COMMON TRAITS

Besides being composed by Italians, the works possess other traits in common.

SETTING 

They are set in the Middle East. One can argue that Egyptomania courses through these works, culminating in the Cairo Opera House premiere of "Aida."

• Mose in Egitto: Egypt
• Moise et Pharaon: Egypt
• Nabucco: Jerusalem / Babylon
• Aida: Egypt

NARRATIVES OF OPPRESSION

They feature choruses of subjugated populations, something Italian audiences can easily identify with having been subjects of foreign powers. To think there were three Italian Wars of Independence. Third time's the charm.

• Mose in Egitto: Hebrews
• Moise et Pharaon: Hebrews
• Nabucco: Jews / Israelites
• Aida: Nubians

ANTHEMS

They feature anthems, songs that serve to unite a group of people. 
Moses and the Hebrews sing a prayer to a God that unites them. The Israelites in "Nabucco" also sing of their plight, another call to God. Aida's farewell to her country is a patriot's sacrifice, all the more moving post-Risorgemento because its unification was hard-fought. Anthems stir audiences' emotions more than romantic duets. 
Perhaps because more people can probably say they know what loving a country means than what falling in love with someone means.


Mose in Egitto: "Dal tuo stellato soglio" 

Moise et Pharaon: "Dal tuo stellato soglio," en francais. 

Nabucco: "Va, pensiero, sull'ali dorate"

Aida: "O Patria Mia" 

OTHER NOTES

ACTS OF GOD

There are acts of God featured in the 3 earlier works.

• Mose in Egitto: The plagues and the parting of the Red Sea
• Moise et Pharaon: As above.
• Nabucco: Nabucco thunderstruck.
• Aida: There are no acts of God in "Aida" because Verdi concerns himself more with human actions.

VERDI'S MATURATION

Verdi sharpened "Nabucco" to "Aida" in the same way that Rossini refashioned his "Moses" to "Moise." The latter works are also more suited to the French Opera tradition. They made room for ballet.

Verdi refined the love triangle in "Nabucco" between Abigaille, Ismaele, and Fenena to "Aida's" love triangle between Amneris, Radames, and Aida. The latter work has a more solid base. Amid the spectacle, no one loses sight of the smaller pyramid. In "Aida," each of the lead roles are three-dimensional. I dare you to hate Amneris at the end. She merits the mantel of tragic heroine as much as Aida. 

To use the buzzword of the moment, I admire Verdi for his grit. He worked until he got better. "Aida" was his best "Nabucco." And to illustrate, listen to the marches from his two works. Which one best suits its narrative? There's a reason why many have walked to the "Aida" march, suitable or not - for me, it was grade school graduation.