Arena’s ‘Death on the Nile’ is a Pleasure Cruise
Robust performances and a parade of fabulous costumes keep Arena's sumptuous "Death on the Nile" steaming ahead.
Agatha Christie left future adapters a trove of wicked murder plots and memorable characters, along with the world’s most comprehensive set of blueprints for designing a well-constructed whodunit. Stitched smartly by the right hands, the Dame’s 1920s and ’30s-era tales of poisoners and backstabbers can feel fresh, even spicy, to modern audiences.
Case in point, for his world-premiere adaptation of the author’s Death on the Nile at Arena Stage, locally-based legend Ken Ludwig pinpoints the tempestuous heart of one of the writer’s most popular mysteries, originally published in 1937. Excising some characters from the book, and inventing or reinventing others, Ludwig nails the frenzied love triangle that propels the story, set aboard the steamship Karnak cruising the Nile.
Hana Sharif — directing her first Arena production since boarding as company artistic director in 2023 — populates the Karnak’s passenger list with an effective cast, starting with Armando Durán as famed Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot.
Poirot doesn’t do much actual detecting in this iteration, as opposed to being just shrewdly observant, as usual, but Durán aptly conveys his authority as a solver of crimes. And, especially opposite Jamil A.C. Mangan’s appealing turn as Poirot’s old chum Colonel Race, Durán captures the detective’s worldly bonhomie.
A bloody homicide might interrupt Poirot’s vacation, but he’s still modestly thrilled to lead the hunt for the killer. There’s a literal boatload of suspects to ponder and interrogate, and, ultimately, multiple crimes to solve.
Ludwig’s adaptation, while sticking mainly to Christie’s plot, offers some surprises in the placement of certain key events. Unfortunately, in Sharif’s staging, neither of two key crime scenes are as persuasive as they could be — one due to the sheer difficulty of dropping a boulder on somebody live onstage, and the other due to lighting, blocking, and set decor that do not obscure a culprit’s identity from the audience.
Kenneth Posner’s lighting otherwise nicely accentuates the action, and Alexander Dodge’s sets for the ship and other locations are impressively posh, and well-utilized. As handsome as the sets are, however, they sometimes serve as mere background to some absolutely stunning period costumes by Karen Perry. Each fabulous frock and shawl and foulard speaks volumes of the world of wealth, and consequent greed, depicted here.
For the performers, inhabiting these larger-than-life characters means inhabiting their extravagant wardrobes. And none are more extravagant in style or personality than self-proclaimed “practicing eccentric” Salomé Otterbourne, a romance novelist-turned-actress played by Nancy Robinette.
Delivering the show’s most enjoyably comedic performance, Robinette makes of Salomé an utter delight, grounded appropriately by Sumié Yotsukura as Salomé’s reserved daughter Rosalie. Ludwig inserts a romance for Rosalie and a young doctor aboard the ship, Ryan Michael Neely’s bland Ramses Praed, that doesn’t rally much rooting interest.
The centerpiece storyline remains the love triangle involving selfish heiress Linnet Ridgeway (Olivia Cygan), her best friend Jacqueline de Bellefort (Katie Kleiger), and the handsome chap in the middle, Simon Doyle (Travis Van Winkle).
The threesome of Cygan, Kleiger, and Van Winkle bring amusing sparks to Linnet, Jacqueline, and Simon’s alternating displays of amorous devotion or catty conflict. They’re funny more than intense, in a production that seems piqued more by the romance and comedy than the murder and intrigue.
In fact, the murder mystery gets wrapped up somewhat perfunctorily, although with a sharp wink and a nod to the trope of Poirot gathering his suspects for a dramatic reveal of his final accusations.
That’s definitely a more solid joke than a clunker about an actor in 1937 turning down the starring role opposite Katharine Hepburn in The African Queen, a movie Hepburn made in 1951. Why that one made it past rehearsal is a mystery we might need Hercule Poirot to solve.
Death on the Nile (★★★☆☆) runs through Dec. 29 at Arena Stage, 1101 6th St. SW. Tickets are $59 to $179. Call 202-488-3300, or visit www.arenastage.org.
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