The Unexpected Guest

If it’s summer, it must be time for the Alley’s Summer Chills mystery series. This year’s treat is the goose bump--inspiring murder mystery The Unexpected Guest by Agatha Christie. Dense fog, the ancient Welsh coastline and a dead big-game hunter all come together to start Christie’s 1958 hit off with a…well, a bang. When a stranger passing by has car trouble, he comes to the Warwicks’ house for help. Inside he finds a dead body and the man’s wife standing over the lifeless figure with a smoking gun in her hand. But as is the case with all Christie’s stories, looks are deceiving. The wife might seem guilty, but is she? Is the stranger who catches her in on the murderous plot or just an innocent passerby? And then there’s that little matter of blackmail. See if you can figure out The Unexpected Guest before the curtain falls. 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays; 8 p.m. Fridays; 2:30 and 8 p.m. Saturdays; and 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. Sundays. Through August 3. 615 Texas. For information, call 713-220-5700 or visit www.alleytheatre.org. $21 to $39.
Thu., July 10, 2:30 & 7:30 p.m.; Fridays, 8 p.m.; Saturdays, 2:30 & 8 p.m.; Tuesdays-Thursdays, 7:30 p.m. Starts: July 10. Continues through Aug. 3, 2008