Today, 25th Nov 2013 in History! LEAD STORY The Mousetrap, a murder-mystery written by the novelist and playwright Agatha Christie, opens at the Ambassadors Theatre in London. The crowd-pleasing whodunit would go on to become the longest continuously running play in history, with more than 10 million people to date attending its more than 20,000 performances in Londons West End. When The Mousetrap premiered in 1952, Winston Churchill was British prime minister, Joseph Stalin was Soviet ruler, and Dwight D. Eisenhower was president-elect. Christie, already a hugely successful English mystery novelist, originally wrote the drama for Queen Mary, wife of the late King George V. Initially called Three Blind Mice, it debuted as a 30-minute radio play on the queens 80th birthday in 1947. Christie later extended the play and renamed it The Mousetrap—a reference to the play-within-a-play performed in William Shakespeares Hamlet. On November 25, 1952, 453 people took their seats in the Ambassadors Theatre for the London premiere of Christies Mousetrap. The drama is played out at Monkswell Manor, whose hosts and guests are snowed in among radio reports of a murderer on the loose. Soon a detective shows up on skis with the terrifying news that the murderer, and probably the next victim, are likely both among their number. Soon the clues and false leads pile as high as the snow. At every curtain call, the individual who has been revealed as the murderer steps forward and tells the audience that they are partners in crime and should keep the secret of the whodunit locked in their heart.Richard Attenborough and his wife, Sheila Sim, were the first stars of The Mousetrap. To date, more than 300 actors and actresses have appeared in the roles of the eight characters. David Raven, who played Major Metcalf for 4,575 performances, is in the Guinness Book of World Records as the worlds most durable actor, while Nancy Seabrooke is noted as the worlds most patient understudy for 6,240 performances, or 15 years, as the substitute for Mrs. Boyle. The Mousetrap is not considered Christies best play, and a prominent stage director once declared that The Mousetrap should be abolished by an act of Parliament. Nevertheless, the shows popularity has not waned. Asked about its enduring appeal, Christie said, It is the sort of play you can take anyone to. It is not really frightening. It is not really horrible. It is not really a farce, but it has a little bit of all these things, and perhaps that satisfies a lot of different people. In 1974, after almost 9,000 shows, the play was moved to St. Martins Theatre, where it remains today. Agatha Christie, who wrote scores of best-selling mystery novels, died in 1976. AMERICAN REVOLUTION Last British soldiers leave New York, 1783 AUTOMOTIVE Lacey V. Murrow Memorial Bridge sinks to the bottom of Lake Washington, 1990 CIVIL WAR Yankees rout Rebels at the Battle of Missionary Ridge, 1863 COLD WAR London Council of Foreign Ministers meeting begins, 1947 CRIME International day to eliminate violence against women, 1999 DISASTER Storm of the century hits eastern U.S., 1950 GENERAL INTEREST Last British soldiers leave New York, 1783 JFK buried at Arlington National Cemetery, 1963 Mishima commits ritual suicide,1970 Iran-Contra connection revealed,1986 HOLLYWOOD Agatha Christie’s long-running play The Mousetrap opens, 1952 LITERARY Nathanael West flunks out of Tufts, 1921 Charlaine Harris, author of Sookie Stackhouse books, is born, 1951 MUSIC Singer-songwriter Nick Drake dies, 1974 OLD WEST U.S. Army retaliates for the Little Bighorn massacre, 1876 PRESIDENTIAL Kennedy laid to rest at Arlington,1963 SPORTS Sugar Ray takes his title back,1980 VIETNAM WAR Catholic official reports support provided to North Vietnam, 1967 Communist activity increases along Cambodian border, 1969 WORLD WAR I German commander in East Africa surrenders , 1918 WORLD WAR II A war warning is sent to commanders in the Pacific, 1941
Posted on: Mon, 25 Nov 2013 02:17:41 +0000
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