AGATHA CHRISTIE - THE UNEXPECTED GUEST
A 2025 Ritz Theater Theatrical Production
May 2, 3, 8, 9, 10, 18 at 7:30 PM , May 4, 11 at 3 PM, May 10 at 2 PM
On a foggy night, Michael Starkwedder enters the home of the Warwick’s through a window in the study. He finds the dead body of Richard Warwick, and finds Richard’s wife, Laura, holding a gun that supposedly killed him. Michael does not believe she killed him, and she soon tells him she is innocent. The two decide to place the blame on an enemy from the past, MacGregor, a man whose son was killed when he was run over by Richard’s car while Richard was driving drunk. As the story progresses, the plot thickens. Who is the real killer? Join us and find out.
Cast List
Auditions
The Ritz Theater will be holding auditions for Agatha Christie’s “The Unexpected Guest”
on February 3 and 5, beginning at 6:30pm each evening. All roles are open. No
monologues are required; all roles will be cast based on cold readings from the script.
Accents from the British Isles are needed.
When the show opens, we see a man in a wheelchair – dead – with his wife standing
nearby and holding a gun. A stranger, who ran his vehicle into a ditch while driving in
the fog, enters the house and comes upon the murder scene. Although it appears clear
that the wife has killed him, the guest is unconvinced and seeks to help her. The clues
as to who killed the man point to a person who has since died. However, they also
reveal a web of family lies that seem to implicate everyone.
The cast consists of ten characters but nine actors, as one role is doubled.
The characters are as follows:
- RICHARD WARWICK – A former big-game hunter, who is confined to a wheelchair due to a hunting accident. Age range – mid-40s to early-50s.
- LAURA WARWICK – Richard’s wife. Age range 30s.
- MICHAEL STARKWEDDER – The unexpected guest. Age range early to mid-40s.
- MISS BENNETT (BENNY) – An ex-hospital nurse who assisted Richard and who lives in the house. Age range early-50s.
- JAN WARWICK – Richard’s nephew; slightly slow. Age range late-teens.
- MRS. WARWICK – Richard’s mother. Age range mid-60s to early-70s.
- HENRY ANGELL – The butler and assistant to Richard. Age range 30s to 40s.
- SERGEANT CADWALLADER – Assigned to the murder investigator. Age range early to mid-30s.
- INSPECTOR THOMAS – Investigator of the murder. Age range mid-40s to early-50s.
- JULIAN FARRAR – Next-door neighbor of the Warwicks, and paramour of Laura. Late 30s to early-30s.
