“The Mousetrap,” Agatha Christie’s classic murder mystery play, will come to life on Ashford University’s Mullany Theater stage on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 30 and 31 at 7:30 p.m.  The public is invited to the performance; admission is $5 for adults, $3 for senior citizens, and all Ashford students will be admitted free with ID.  

“The Mousetrap” has been running continuously since it opened in London in 1952, boasting the longest initial run of any play in history, with more than 23,000 performances to date.  It is the longest running show in modern times. 

In the play, a group of strangers – one of whom is a murderer – is stranded in a boarding house during a snowstorm. The suspects include the newly married couple who run the house, a spinster with a curious background, an architect who seems better equipped to be a chef, a retired Army major, a strange little man who claims his car has overturned in a snow drift, and a jurist who makes life miserable for everyone. Into their midst comes a policeman, traveling on skis, who must uncover the identities of both the murderer and the next victim before it is too late. 

Emily Eisenman, Clinton, will direct Ashford’s production of “The Mousetrap.”  “I’m very excited to direct my first show at Ashford University after watching many of my Ashford friends in numerous productions over the past few years,” said Eisenman, who graduated last year from the University of Northern Iowa (UNI) with a degree in communication and theatre education.  

At UNI, Eisenman directed “Dead White Males: A Year in the Trenches of Teaching” for her honors thesis project. She also appeared in “Nickel and Dimed,” “Fefu and Her Friends,” and was one-fifth of the cast of “43 Plays for 43 Presidents.” She grew up in Clinton and has spent the past eight years aboard the Clinton Area Showboat Theatre, working onstage, backstage, and in the box office. Eisenman is currently a substitute teacher for several area school districts. 

In “The Mousetrap” cast are Jamie Carr (Mollie Ralston); Nate Niles (Giles Ralston); Matt Jacobsen (Christopher Wren); Karla Zapata (Mrs. Boyle); Myk Meador (Major Metcalf); Liz Davis (Miss Casewell), and Adam Cunningham (Mr. Paravincini). Ashford alumnus Eddie Keiller will portray Detective Sergeant Trotter.  

About Ashford University

Founded in 1918, Ashford University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. The University offers graduate and undergraduate degree programs online and at its Clinton, Iowa, campus.   The University is known for its high quality yet highly affordable online and on-campus programs. For more information, please visit www.ashford.edu or call Shari Rodriguez, director of Public Relations, at 858.513.9240 x2513.