Players deal winning hand with ‘Cards on the Table’

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(From left) Leroy Morgan
reviews his investigation notes as Becky Hansen is questioned by Deb Shaffer about the scorecards from a
game of bridge Wednesday night during the dress rehearsal of "Cards on the Table" at the First
United Methodist church in Bowling Green. (Photos: Shane Hughes/Sentinel-Tribune)

A word to the wise: If you invite four people who you know have gotten away with murder over for dinner
and cards, beware, even if you have also invited a police superintendent and famous mystery writer.
The character Shaitana in Agatha Christie’s "Cards on the Table" ignored this advice and ended
up dead.
The mystery of who killed the unfortunate host unravels on stage in the Black Swamp Players’ production
this weekend and next at the First United Methodist Church in Bowling Green.
This is a play – streamlined from the four suspects and four sleuths setup of the original novel – where
clues and red-herrings swim freely through conversation, none of it casual. Deception frames every
statement and every scene ends with a revelation that’s just as likely to steer the sleuths in the
audience off course as it is to illuminate the case.
That case begins with Shaitana (Bill Perry) hosting a party. "How do you like my collection?"
he asks Mrs. Oliver (Deb Shaffer), the noted author. He’s not referring to his first edition novels or
the snuff boxes, rather to the quartet of people he says have all gotten away with murder.
Superintendent Battle (Leroy Morgan) joins them, and without knowing his fellow guests’ backgrounds,
notes that none of them seems to want to engage him at all.
Well, there’s no mystery what happens next. Shaitana winds up in his easy chair dead from a stab to the
heart, and the murder weapon sitting next to him. And since apparently this was a bloodless wound,
there’s no evidence as to whom the culprit is.
Battle sets to work, as does Oliver. He grills each guest, and using their score cards from the bridge
game that was in process at the time of the crime makes observations on the psychological makeup of each
suspect.

(From left) Nate Miller,
Emily Waters, Anderson Lee, and Becky Hansen play a game of bridge during a dinner party composed of
murderers Wednesday night during the dress rehearsal of "Cards on the Table" at the First
United Methodist church in Bowling Green.

This is the kind of dinner party only a mystery writer would concoct. Anne Meredith (Emily Waters) is a
sensitive beauty, always on edge, resentful that everyone seems to want to match her with some wealthy
older man. Mrs. Lorrimer (Becky Hansen) is a meticulous, rather rigid widow, known for her bridge
skills.
Dr. Roberts (Anderson Lee) is a rather stuffy doctor, who keeps to himself. Major Despard (Nat Miller) is
an adventurer, not afraid to face death.
The set up allows each character to get their chance to shade the truth to their own liking as their back
stories emerge. We learn about all the dead bodies they’ve left in their wakes.
Caught in the middle is the one earnest character Rhoda Dawes (Alyssa Pike) with whom Anne lives as a
companion. When the two young women first step on stage together, the bond is evident… credit to the
actresses. Dawes, however, is in danger, and Waters does well to hint at the unsavory character that
lurks beneath Anne’s elegant exterior.
As this plays out Battle and Mrs. Oliver have friendly competition over who will solve this mystery
first. Morgan’s Battle is dogged, and logical. Shaffer is wonderfully dotty and intuitive, always
munching on a pippin.
Helps the digestion, she says.
Well, "Cards on the Table," for all its knotty plot turns, is easy to digest. Fans of the
Players’ mysteries are sure to eat up this guilty pleasure.

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