Murder mystery fans rejoice! The Mousetrap by Agatha Christie is headed to Broadway. The producers behind the West End production of the play, which has been running on the West End since 1952, announced plans for a New York City bow in 2023. A Broadway theatre and a date has not been announced, though tickets will be on sale in the new year.
The producers of the Broadway transfer are Tony winner Kevin McCollum and The Mousetrap's UK producer Adam Spiegel. “I am thrilled that Agatha Christie’s beloved murder mystery that changed popular theatre and has been a landmark attraction for US visitors to London’s West End for the past 70 years will now be coming to Broadway," said McCollum in a statement. "I’m excited for the huge Christie fan-base in North America, and for the acting company in New York who will join the esteemed ranks of The Mousetrap alumni.”
McCollum's has helped transfer other London hits to NYC, including Six and The Play That Goes Wrong.
Written by Christie, Mousetrap is considered a classic whodunnit. It is about a group of seven strangers who find themselves in a guesthouse in the country. Unfortunately, there is a murderer is in their midst, and they have to find out who it is (revealing their dark pasts in the process).
Since its premiere in London in 1952, the play has been performed regionally in America but never on Broadway. Christie and the show's original producer Peter Saunders did not want the show to go to Broadway, according to her grandson Mathew Prichard, who told The Times, "Those reasons are now long lost." Prichard has approved the play's transfer to Broadway.
Christie notoriously also didn't have a high opinion of The Mousetrap in London, remarking after its premiere, "It won't run that long. Eight months perhaps." The premiere of the play featured real-life couple Richard Attenborough and Sheila Sim.
Luckily, Christie was wrong. November 25 marks the 70th anniversary of the Mousetrap's premiere on the West End. It has been running more or less continuously since 1972 (aside from the COVID-19 pandemic closure). The Mousetrap is also celebrating its 70th anniversary with a UK tour, which opened at Nottingham Theatre Royal September 2022, north of London. The tour will make 70 stops.
“There can be no better way to mark today’s milestone in The Mousetrap’s illustrious run, than to look ahead to a production in New York," said Spiegel in a statement. "I feel after the longest out of town try-out in history, The Mousetrap is finally ready to transfer to Broadway!” Spiegel's only Broadway credit is the 1998 musical Fame.
The Mousetrap is so popular in London that Queen Elizabeth II attended the show's 50th anniversary performance. It has performed 28,915 times in London and has been seen by over 10 million people, making it the longest-running play in the world.
Per the show's website, the Broadway production of The Mousetrap will feature aspects of the original West End set from the '50s, which have since been replaced due to normal wear and tear. The Broadway production will include a recreation of Anthony Holland's original set design, and the only surviving piece of the original set: a mantelpiece clock. There will also be a backstage wind machine that contains the name of the show's original producer, Saunders.
The Broadway production will feature a new cast, which will be announced at a later date.
For its 70th anniversary, the show also released a new cartoon by The Sunday Times' Nick Newman.
