Mrs. Christie: a heartfelt drama about personal growth, grief, and murder mysteries

(image from Milwaukee Rep's website)

I've reviewed books and movies on this blog, but this is my first review of a play!

As many of my subscribers know, I moved to Milwaukee a few years ago and I love the arts scene here. Milwaukee Rep is one of the many things I love about this city, and their production of Mrs. Christie is no exception.

I've blogged about my love for Agatha Christie books before. Hercule Poirot and I first became introduced in seventh grade, and I've probably read a good fifty of Dame Christie's eighty-plus novels. 

I'm also a big fan of Tom Stoppard's Arcadia, which is set in the same room of a rural English manor both in the time of Lord Byron and in the 1990s, with the modern-day folks trying to figure out what happened to Byron on a lost weekend 150 years prior. 

Mrs. Christie, a play by Heidi Armbruster, employs a similar narrative element for playing with time, trying to figure out exactly what happened to Agatha Christie during her lost eleven days a hundred years ago. 

As a fan of Christie, I figured I was in for a good time, but I wasn't expecting the play to be as profound and touching as it was. I don't want to give too much away, but the back-and-forth story of Agatha Christie and the fan a hundred years later who is searching for answers is compelling and moving. 

Fans of Christie will find a lot to like: there are Easter Eggs aplenty, and many comedic moments. The character of Christie herself is a little pitiable near the beginning, but as the play moves forward and her true self begins to come out, she's transformed to a character I found myself rooting for.

If you're in the Milwaukee area, Mrs. Christie is playing through May 10, 2026, and I highly recommend it. It's also playing in May 2026 at the Berlind Theater in Princeton, New Jersey, and I think it's worth a drive from New York or Philadelphia.