STAGE REVIEW : ACTORS THE BAIT FOR THIS ‘MOUSETRAP’

Agatha Christie’s “The Mousetrap” has the distinction of being the longest running show in London. For more than three decades it has been an institution for tourists and natives alike--the stage equivalent of the Tower of London or Big Ben.

The reasons for its remarkable longevity might not be obvious to the newer breed of mystery fans whose theater experience lies more with the baroque plot shimmies and challenging mind play of contemporary playwrights such as Ira Levin (“Deathtrap”). “The Mousetrap,” as is clearly apparent in the Resident Theatre Company’s tame but well-acted production, is a likable but only mildly surprising story that is more interesting as a finely crafted antique than as an example of the best the genre has to offer.

The plot is decidedly old hat: While a snowstorm rages, a diverse group gathers in a musty Gothic mansion (Gil Morales’ campy, cartoonish set is wonderfully irreverent). Among them is a deranged killer with an ugly past and the need for brutal revenge. Yes, murder is in the air.

The play’s strength is its characters, a curious lot with more than their share of personality quirks. Christie’s ability to create involved characters, honed through her many novels, is evident.

But “The Mousetrap” also has some thuddingly dull patches where nothing much happens, and the time is filled by unrevealing talk. True, there are some humorous moments--there’s a laugh every time Eric Marx as the swishy Christopher Wren opens his mouth--but comic gab, even with an English accent, is not enough to keep the momentum going.

Director Robert Robinson has taken a reverential, straightforward approach that does little to mitigate the plodding tone or de-emphasize the play’s other weaknesses.

Nevertheless, the actors, to their credit, never stop trying to give the production some needed fizz. As Wren, Marx is full of grand Oscar Wilde affectations. His is a lively silliness, and with his nervous mannerisms and underexposed past, he makes for a likely suspect.

So does Michael Kelly as Giles Ralston, the sardonic and vaguely sinister innkeeper who is suspicious of everybody else, yet is rather suspicious himself. Kat Van Schaik is attractive and believable as his wife, a displaced city lady who seems as baffled by keeping house as by the danger around her.

There’s just enough darkness in Tim Blough’s portrait of Sgt. Trotter to make the audience wonder about him, too. A final confrontation prompts Blough to get a little hammy, but it doesn’t ruin an otherwise strong performance. The same cannot be said of Raun Imperial’s overdone portrayal of the inscrutable Mr. Paravicini--it goes beyond the broad-gestured campiness that often marks these drawing-room whodunits.

‘THE MOUSETRAP’

A Resident Theatre Company production of the Agatha Christie play. Director Robert Robinson. With Tim Blough, Kat Van Schaik, Michael Kelly, Ann Peterson, Kathleen O’Brien, Eric Marx, Raun Imperial and John Merina. Set Gil Morales. Lighting Steve Pliska. Costumes Mela Hoyt-Heydon. Sound James Innocente. Plays at 8 p.m. (dinner served at 7:15 p.m.) Thursday through Sunday through Aug. 30 at the Muckenthaler Cultural Center, 1201 W. Malvern Ave., Fullerton. Tickets: $15 to $18.50. (714) 871-8101.