Way Off Broadway Will Kick Off It's 30th Anniversary Season With Agatha Christie's A MURDER IS ANNOUNCED

The Way Off Broadway Dinner Theatre will begin its 30th Anniversary Season with a classic murder mystery from the Queen of Mysteries, Agatha Christie.  The 2024 Season will kick off with A Murder is Announced on Friday evening, January 19th.  The whodunnit will then run through March 2nd. 

In the play, an announcement in the local paper states the time and place when a murder is to occur in Miss Blacklock's home in the English village of Chipping Cleghorn.  What follows is a classic Christie puzzle of mixed motives, concealed identities, a second death, and a determined inspector grimly following the case's twists and turns.  Fortunately, Miss Marple is on hand to provide the solution – at some risk to herself – in a dramatic final confrontation.

A Murder is Announced was first published in 1950 and was the fourth novel featuring the amateur sleuth Jane Marple.  At the time, one reviewer said, "The plot is as ingenious as ever..." while another referred to it as a "brilliantly conducted parlour game.”

In 1956, NBC's Goodyear Playhouse presented a television adaption starring Gracie Fields as Miss Marple, Roger Moore as Patrick Simmons, and Jessica Tandy as Letitia Blacklock. Another television adaptation came in 1984 as part of the popular BBC series Miss Marple, starring Joan Hickson as Marple.

The stage version of A Murder is Announced first premiered at the Theatre Royal, Brighton in 1977 before transferring to the Vaudeville Theatre in London later that year.

  Way Off Broadway's production of A Murder is Announced brings together a cast who, in large part, appeared together in the theatre's record-breaking production of another Christie mystery in 2022, Murder on the Orient Express.  The cast includes Jessica Billones as Letitia Blacklock, Betsey Whitmore Brannen as Bunny, Amy Cajigas as Mitzi, Brian D. Kaider as Inspector Craddock, Bill Kiska as Sergeant Mellors, Pam Neely as Mrs. Swettenham, Laura Hepp Saunders as Phillipa, Wil Spaeth as Edmund, Randy Stull as Patrick, and Megan Elizabeth West as Julia. Taking on the role of the iconic amateur detective is Hannah Pecoraro as Miss Marple.

  A Murder is Announced is based on Agatha Christie's novel of the same name and was adapted for the stage by Leslie Darbon.  Justin M. Kiska, one of the theatre's owners and a mystery writer himself, directs the production.  

  A Murder is Announced runs January 19th through March 2nd, with performances are every Friday and Saturday evening, and matinees on the 1st, 3rd, and 5th Sunday of each month.  Tickets on Friday evenings are $56; Saturday evenings are $60; and Sunday afternoons are $59 per person.  Tickets may be purchased by calling the theatre's Box Office at (301) 662-6600.  A specific Performance Calendar can be found on the theatre's website at www.wayoffbroadway.com.

To learn more about A Murder is Announced, or any of the shows in Way Off Broadway's upcoming 30th Anniversary Season including Diana – The Musical, Tootsie, Anastasia, or Christmas Chronicles, visit www.wayoffbroadway.com.

The Way Off Broadway Dinner Theatre, under the direction of the Kiska family since 2002, will celebrate its 30th Anniversary Season of producing live theatre in 2024. Since it first opened in 1995, the theatre has been a leader in the area's theatre community, proudly bringing both classic musicals, as well as regional and area premieres to the Frederick stage. Productions have included Mary Poppins, Mamma Mia!,  Disney's Beauty & the Beast, Sister Act, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Monty Python's SPAMALOT, Noises Off, The Addams Family, Les Misérables, Sunset Boulevard, Legally Blonde, Dolly Parton's 9 to 5: The Musical, Hairspray, South Pacific, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Mel Brooks' The Producers, CATS, The Wedding Singer, Evita, Thoroughly Modern Millie, The Sound of Music, Fiddler on the Roof, Grease, La Cage aux Folles, Guys & Dolls, Steel Magnolias, …Forum, Lend Me a Tenor, Joseph…, Blood Brothers, Mame, and 42nd Street. In addition to its regular Mainstage season, Way Off Broadway produces a number of special events throughout the year, including family theatre productions and an annual Breakfast with Santa (and Mrs. Claus). Through its outside producing brand, WOB LIVE! Entertainment, Way Off Broadway also presents Marquee Mysteries - an interactive murder mystery series where the audience helps solve the case - not only at the theatre, but regularly on the Walkersville Southern Railroad and other venues through the area for private functions.  www.wayoffbroadway.com.

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