'The Hollow' at the Liberty Center Was a Fun Night Out

The Liberty Center Association for the Arts is now showing Agatha Christie's The Hollow: A Murder Mystery in Sedalia. I had a chance to attend the Saturday night show.

The Hollow is pretty much what you would expect from a murder mystery. The first act introduces all the characters, and the audience quickly discovers that pretty much all of them have a motive for the eventual murder. The rest of the drama unfolds as the audience tries to guess "who done it," and no, I'm not going to tell you. I will tell you that the audience on Saturday seemed to be completely engaged. I overheard several parties during intermission discussing the characters, and trying to figure out who the murderer was.

Saturday night's performance was the second time I've attended an Agatha Christie production. Last year, I saw And Then There Were None on stage in Quincy, Illinois. It was also enjoyable, but I liked The Hollow better, mostly because of the humor. Even though the story is about murder, the play has a ton of comedy, and the audience kind of needs it, because these murder mystery productions are long, and they can get boring unless there is some extra entertainment value. Showtime on Saturday was 7:30, and it was 10:30 when I stepped outside the theater (there was a 20 minute intermission during the show). The Hollow seemed to have just the right mix of drama and humor.

The show will be on stage again this weekend, March 11 - 13, at the Liberty Center Association for the Arts, 111 West 5th in Sedalia. Tickets can be purchased online, or by calling the Liberty Center box office at 660-827-3228. The box office is open Tuesday through Friday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tickets are $12 each with Senior Citizen discounts available.