Among the guests and suspects in "The Mousetrap" are (from left) Laura Ambrose of Minneapolis, Tom Milligan of West Amana, Kay Francis of Naples, Fla., and James Fleming of New York. Agatha Christie's enduring mystery is onstage at the Old Creamery Theatre in Amana through Nov. 13, 2011. (Deborah Kennedy/Old Creamery photo)

By Diana Nollen/ SourceMedia Group

AMANA — Watching a whodunit unfold when anyone could have done it is just so delicious. And nobody writes a cat-and-mouse game as well as Agatha Christie.

Her masterpiece, “The Mousetrap,” has been playing continuously in London since 1952. Deemed the world’s longest running play, it sent chills, nervous laughter, murmurs and gasps rippling through Thursday afternoon’s opening audience at the Old Creamery Theatre. (10/20/2011)

This show just never gets old. I’ve seen at least three productions over the years, and it’s just as fresh and delightful now as it was the first time I saw it. The bonus is that while I did remember whodunit, I forgot the delicious plot twists that bring the story full circle.

Mum’s the word. You’ll just have to see for yourself if the murderer is Mrs. Ralston in the kitchen, Major Metcalf in the cellar, Miss Casewell in the study or any of the other colorful characters snowed in at Monkswell Manor Guest House outside London. It all plays out like the most clever game of “Clue.”

The Creamery has assembled a top-flight cast, adept at charming the audience and looking utterly innocent, then utterly guilty. Tom Milligan’s Victorian sitting room design, with its five entrances and exits, sets the stage nicely, enhanced by Kyle Ketelsen’s ominous lighting effects and Marquetta Senters’ period costuming.

The action begins on opening day at the manor, run by newlyweds Mollie and Giles Ralston, played by real-life spouses Jackie and Sean McCall. Full of naive enthusiasm, they greet their first guests with open arms as a snowstorm howls around them. It’s 1952 and playing on the radio is the gruesome news of a murder in London. Four of the Ralstons’ guests are expected but one is not.

 Soon a detective (Andrew Bosworth) arrives on the scene to deliver the ominous news that someone at the manor could very well be the murderer’s next target.

Will it be the snooty, unpleasant Mrs. Boyle, played to the hilt by Kay Francis? The jovial Major Metcalf (James Fleming)? The tough-talking, cigarette-smoking Miss Casewell (Laura Ambrose)? The flamboyant Christopher Wren (John Hill)? Or the sadistic Mr. Paravicini (Tom Milligan) in his smoking jacket and garish makeup? And what about the newlyweds? How well do they really know each other and their guests?

You’ll have to tune in and see for yourself.

FAST TAKE

What: “The Mousetrap” by Agatha Christie

Where: Old Creamery Theatre, 39 38th Ave., Amana

When: Through Nov. 13; 3 p.m. Wednesday, Thursdays and Sundays, 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays

Tickets: $27 adults, $17.50 students, at the Old Creamery Box Office, 1-(800) 35-AMANA or www.oldcreamery.com 

Information: http://www.oldcreamery.com/2011themousetrap.php