A group of local performers is taking on Agatha Christie’s “The Mousetrap” at the Belle Starr Theatre in Warrenton this weekend.The play, which was published in 1952, is about strangers stranded in a cabin during a snowstorm. After one dies, the others are left to question and be questioned about their lives and how they might be connected with the mysteries they encounter at the cabin.Show times are 8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 28, and Saturday, Sept. 29, and 2 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 30. Tickets are $10.The Belle Starr Theatre is located at 112 E. Main St. in Warrenton.Jim Mossop is the director. This his 10th production at the Belle Starr Theatre, which seats about 110 people.Mossop said he and the actors are not an organized production group. Rather, it’s a network of people in the community who volunteer their time and talent to create local entertainment.“We don’t get paid. We do it because we all love to do it,” said Connie Tesson, who plays ‘The Mousetrap’s” Mrs. Boyle, an older woman with a curious background.Other plays may have more people on stage, but some cast members may have just a few lines. In this play, Mossop said, “There are eight characters and there’s no small part.”Mossop said he had an idea about who he wanted to cast for each role in this play before rehearsals started. Other characters — or suspects — include the newly married couple who run the house, Giles and Mollie Ralston played by real-life spouses Brian and Sarah Wombacher; Christopher Wren, an energetic young man, played by Scott Whiticar; Maj. Metcalf, a retired Army major, played by Vince Fallert; Miss Casewell, an aloof woman, played by Jenn Weber; Mr. Paravicini, whose car overturned in a drift, played by Robert King; and Sgt. Trotter, a policeman, played by Chris Kamper.Rehearsals at the theatre happened intermittently so the cast spent time at home memorizing lines and rehearsing with spouses and kids.This is Fallert’s 21st play. His role is the retired military major.“My wife is getting tired of reading lines back to me,” Fallert teased.“The Mousetrap” is Weber’s sixth play working with Mossop. She starting acting when she was in high school. She enjoys it so much that she makes time for it, even with a busy home and family life.“It’s a fun escape from our own lives,” Weber said of acting. “You get to pretend to be someone else.”She said she tends to be an introvert, but not when she’s on stage. Her characters are extroverts, and that is what she becomes.“The Mousetrap” has played around the world and is the longest-running play in the history of London’s West End, according to AgathaChristie.com.Christie was born in England in 1890. She went on to write 66 detective novels and 14 short stories. The only writings that have outsold her are the Bible and the writings of William Shakespeare.Missop said they’re planning a holiday-themed performance for Hometown Christmas festivities. In the spring, the group is planning to produce “Godspell” at the Belle Starr Theatre.

Local actors are performing Agatha Christie's "The Mousetrap" at the Belle Starr Theatre on Main Street in Warrenton this weekend. Tickets are $10. 

Record photo/Kate Miller

The cast of "The Mousetrap" rehearses for their performance at the Belle Starr Theatre this weekend. From left, Connie Tesson as Mrs. Boyle, Chris Kemper as Sgt. Trotter and Robert King as Mr. Paravicini. 

Record photo/Kate Miller