Agatha Christie's The Murder of Roger Ackroyd at Theatre 40 at The Reuben Cordova Theatre

Agatha Christie's The Murder of Roger Ackroyd

Theatre 40 at The Reuben Cordova Theatre
241 Moreno Drive Beverly Hills

Agatha Christie’s The Murder of Roger Ackroyd is a thrilling tale of greed, blackmail and murder most foul. This ingenious 1926 novel cemented Christie’s reputation as the greatest mystery novelist of all time. The story’s shocking twist ending has thrilled readers for generations and has been called “the best and most cunning solution devised in her storied career.” Now, the landmark novel comes to the stage in a new and fastmoving adaptation. Filled with colorful characters, outrageous laughter and nail-biting suspense, this Christie classic is sure to leave audiences guessing, gasping and delighting in the case long after the curtain has come down

Thru - Dec 15, 2024

Show Type: Drama

Box Office: 310-364-0535

www.Theatre40.org

Agatha Christie's The Murder of Roger Ackroyd Reviews

Average Rating based on 5 reviews

Highly Recommended
Recommended
Somewhat Recommended
Not Recommended

Stage and Cinema - Not Recommended

"...The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, adapted for the stage by Mark Shanahan from Agatha Christie's 1926 novel, premiered at the Alley Theatre in Houston, Texas in 2023. It's no surprise that the West Coast premiere at Theatre 40 in Beverly Hills is only the second production, as Shanahan's script draws out the action at a snail's pace with stereotypical characters, here over-played for laughs thanks to Jules Aaron's direction, or lack thereof. So rather than an absorbing tale of murder, lies, passion, and surprises needed for a mystery to work, it's played like a comical farce, and a bad one at that. And given the number of audience members falling asleep, It would have helped if the cast picked up the pace and held back on the over-the-top histrionics that spoil the beloved Christie tale."

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- Shari Barrett

LA Splash - Highly Recommended

"...Helmed by the award-winning and very experienced Jules Aaron, one of Los Angeles’ most honored directors, THE MURDER OF ROGER ACKROYD proceeds at a breakneck yet sly pace as bits and pieces of the tale emerge, sometimes crashing and sometimes slithering into view. The ensemble cast does an excellent job of looking both innocent and guilty at the same time."

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- Elaine Mura

Showmag - Highly Recommended

"...If you love a mystery, and I do, you will absolutely LOVE this adaptation of a 1926 Agatha Christie novel, now onstage at Theatre Forty in Beverly Hills. It’s difficult to condense a carefully plotted 300 page novel, which this is, into a play that can be enjoyed in one sitting, but the forces behind The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, from adept adapter, Mark Shanahan, to the prolific director, Jules Aaron, and a fulsome cast of Theatre Forty stalwarts, including Artistic Director, David Hunt Stafford as Major Blunt, combine to serve up the customary cast of Christie characters who delineate the mystery of wealthy Roger Ackroyd’s murder, which takes place at the beginning of the play."

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- Leigh Kennicott

Stage Raw - Recommended

"...The action is set in 1927 in England's Lake District - the sleepy village of King's Abbot, to be precise. It is here that famous private detective Hercule Poirot (Michael Mullen) has recently retreated to grow vegetables and live a quiet life. His intended retirement is interrupted by the murder of his friend, wealthy businessman Roger Ackroyd (Todd Andrew Ball), found stabbed in his office at Fernly Hall. The reluctant Poirot, ever the old war horse, is called back into the fray to ferret out the truth."

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- F. Kathleen Foley

Its Not About Me - Recommended

"...I love that Theatre 40 in Beverly Hills brings us classic murder mysteries from time to time. And running right now is The Murder of Roger Ackroyd which is adapted from Agatha Christie’s novel, featuring French detective Hercule Poirot, that is considered one of the best tales in history! So I applaud this company for taking it on."

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- Karen Salkin

Agatha Christie's The Murder of Roger Ackroyd at Theatre 40 at The Reuben Cordova Theatre