FRIDAY, OCTOBER 24 | 7:00 PM SATURDAY, OCTOBER 25 | 2:00 PM
RICHARD PERRY THEATRE DIRECTED BY MARIKO WATT
“And Then There Were None” is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Samuel French,
THE VIDEOTAPING OR MAKING OF ELECTRONIC OR OTHER AUDIO AND/OR VISUAL RECORDINGS OF THIS PRODUCTION AND DISTRIBUTING RECORDINGS OR STREAMS IN ANY MEDIUM, INCLUDING THE INTERNET, IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED, A VIOLATION OF THE AUTHOR(S)’S RIGHTS AND ACTIONABLE UNDER UNITED STATES COPYRIGHT LAW. FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE VISIT: https://concordtheatricals.com/resources/protecting-artists
PLEASE BE ADVISED: And Then There Were None is appropriate for Grade 8 and older audience members. The show includes gunshots and contains themes of violence, murder, and suicide that may not be appropriate for younger audiences.
The dark nursery rhyme, Ten Little Soldier Boys, is more than just decoration in our house. It is instead a step-by-step blueprint for murder. As the body count rises, our characters begin to understand that a murderer is following the instructions from the rhyme, bringing them to the chilling understanding that their fate is predestined, leaving them helpless as they wait for their corresponding death.
Ten little Soldier Boys went out to dine;
One choked his little self and then there were Nine.
Nine little Soldier Boys sat up very late;
One overslept himself and then there were Eight.
Eight little Soldier Boys travelling in Devon;
One said he’d stay there and then there were Seven.
Seven little Soldier Boys chopping up sticks;
One chopped himself in halves and then there were Six.
Six little Soldier Boys playing with a hive;
A bumble-bee stung one and then there were Five.
Five little Soldier Boys going in for law;
One got in Chancery* and then there were Four.
Four little Soldier Boys going out to sea;
A red herring swallowed one and then there were Three.
Three little Soldier Boys walking in the Zoo;
A big bear hugged one and then there were Two.
Two little Soldier Boys sitting in the sun;
One got frizzled up and then there was One.
One little Soldier Boy left all alone;
He went and hanged himself and then there were None.
*Chancery (noun: British English): The Lord Chancellor’s court; a division of the High Court of Justice.
The “Ten Little Soldier Boys” rhyme used in And Then There Were None is an adaptation of an older, much more controversial 19th-century minstrel song. When Agatha Christie first published her novel in 1939, she used a version of the rhyme with a more offensive title, but publishers in the United States and the United Kingdom quickly revised it to “Ten Little Indians” and eventually “Ten Little Soldier Boys” to remove the offensive language.
Director’s Note
Selecting our fall productions is always an exciting process. I really try to think about how to vary the types of stories that I tell from year to year, and find ways to challenge our actors and engage our audiences. I knew that I would have a great group of actors this year, and I’ve always loved mysteries—in fact, Christie’s The Mousetrap was one of the first live professional plays I watched as a child, so jumping into a murder mystery to start off our season was an easy decision.
While many may be familiar with the 1943 stage version of And Then There Were None, which famously changed the original ending of the story (thinking that audiences understandably needed a more hopeful and positive ending during the height of WWII), we have decided to return to Christie’s original 1939 novel ending, as allowed by the Christie estate. This choice forces the audience to confront the questions: Is true justice possible? Can a person ever be fully held accountable for their sins? By returning to the novel ending, an ending I feel is more true to the author’s original intention, I’m hoping to bring a greater sense of foreboding and darkness to this production, and an elevated sense of depth and maturity to our actors.
This play is a classic for a reason, but we live in a very different world today. The dated language of the British 1930s and 1940s can, for some, feel like a barrier to enjoying and understanding the piece. To make this as accessible and understandable as possible to the Poly audience, we’ve updated the setting to modern day America. While pulling inspiration from movies and shows like Glass Onion, Sherlock, and Clue, it’s still a deliberate choice to explore how timeless themes of guilt, class, and moral decay may still resonate today. In an era of social media, instant gratification, and constant online surveillance, what does it mean to have a secret? In a society that is more connected than ever, the isolated island takes on a new significance, and shows us that we can still feel utterly alone.
In bringing this story to the Upper School stage, I hope to challenge the cast and audience to explore deeper themes of guilt and consequence, without the comfort of a conventional happy ending. Our incredible student actors have done a great job of embodying these characters and making them their own, and I hope that this interpretation will make you put down your phone and just exist in the moment. Enjoy!
Mariko Watt Director
A Note from the Performing Arts Department
Welcome to the first show of our fall season! We are thrilled to open the school year with Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None, a masterfully crafted mystery that continues to grip audiences well past its original novel publication in 1939.
This production has challenged our cast and crew to explore complex characters, high-stakes tension, and the depth of guilt, justice, and survival. With moments of subtle suspense and explosive drama, this play showcases the incredible talent and dedication of our student performers.
I’m so grateful to our talented director, Mariko Watt, and our designers for artfully bringing this classic story to our stage while also being careful to consider today’s audiences. The contemporary restyling and the professional care, especially when death is the main theme, shows throughout in this thoughtful and well-executed performance.
Thank you for joining us to kick off our 2025–26 theater season. We hope you enjoy this thrilling night of mystery and we look forward to seeing you at future arts events.
Stage Crew ............................................................................................................ Abigail Jean Lights Emma Gordon-MooPenn*
*Denotes Excellence in the Arts certificate program acceptance
Meet the Production Staff
Mariko Watt (Director) is excited to bring this murder mystery to life! While primarily known throughout the Poly Prep community as the Director of the Upper School Musicals, Watt brings a vast and diverse background to every production she directs. Her teaching and directing is built on a passion for storytelling and a commitment to nurturing young talent, drawing on her extensive experience as a director, acting coach, drama teacher, and professional performer. Watt’s directorial style is rooted in empowering actors to find themselves in their roles, a philosophy honed in more than fifteen years running her own highly successful private vocal and acting studio. Prior to Poly Prep, Watt spent time teaching at the International School of Brooklyn, and music directing and composing at Brooklyn Children’s Theatre and Queens Theater. Favorite directing credits include: 9 to 5: The Musical, She Kills Monsters, The Prom, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Curtains, Sweet Charity, Legally Blonde, Freaky Friday, Suessical, Guys and Dolls, and Annie.
Kim Griffin (Costume Designer) has designed for theater, musicals, dance, and opera; collaboration with directors, the design team, and the actors is integral to her process from beginning to end. Griffin has worked at theaters, including the Williamstown Theatre Festival; New Jersey Repertory Theatre; Florida Repertory Theatre, Houston’s Theatre Under the Stars; The Ohio Light Opera; Stageworks Theatre; Boomerang Theatre Company; Opera in the Heights; and The Gilbert & Sullivan Society of Houston. She has toured with the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Legends Blue Unit and has stitched for The Met Gala, Broadway shows, and national tours. She has also designed for Theatre for Young Audiences tours, along with university and high school productions. Griffin is originally from Houston, Texas and earned her BFA in Theatre Design & Technology with a minor in Music from Baylor University and an MFA in Costume Design from Mason Gross School of the Arts, Rutgers University. As part of the fulfillment of her master’s degree at MGSA, she studied at Rutgers Conservatory at Shakespeare’s Globe, and The School of Historical Dress in London, England.
Daniel Patrick Hogan (Technical Director & Scenic/Set Designer) has built a wide-ranging career in scenic design, makeup artistry, production management, and artistic direction. His work spans regional theater productions, collaborations with nonprofit organizations, and educational projects with students at the middle school, high school, and collegiate levels. As a scenic designer, his favorite projects include Little Shop of Horrors; The Seafarer, The Pirates of Penzance; In the Heights; The Hunchback of Notre Dame; and A Doll’s House. Hogan thoroughly enjoys transforming found spaces and designing new works. Recently, Hogan designed scenery for The Wallace Theatre’s production of Sweeney Todd. He created an immersive, multi-leveled
set that placed the audience in between different locations. His design utilized existing elements of the derelict Wallace Theatre and offered a unique viewing experience for each audience member. He has also designed immersive installations for The Cauldron Pub in New York and Chicago. Hogan served for many years as Production Manager for Moonlight Musicals, where he designed and produced up to ten shows each season, often overseeing every stage of the creative process. Outside of Poly, Hogan continues to perform as a musician. He is the Baritone Soloist and Cantor at The Church of St. Paul the Apostle in Columbus Circle.
David Higham (Lighting Designer) is in his 34th year at Poly, where he has been responsible for designing the lighting, sound, and scenery for over 170 productions. This year Higham (in a part-time capacity) will design the lighting for all the productions and assist Daniel Hogan with the producing scenery. In addition to his work at Poly, Higham has designed lighting for productions at The Public Theatre, Lincoln Center, the Irish Arts Center, The Women’s Project, The Puerto Rican Traveling Theatre, and The National Shakespeare Company. Higham has also worked as a lighting designer for several New York City architectural and landscape design firms.
Agatha Christie (Author/Playwright) Born in Torquay, England in 1890, Agatha Christie is the best-selling novelist of all time. With over one billion books sold in English and another billion in over 100 languages, she is outsold only by the Bible and Shakespeare. She wrote 80 crime novels and collections of short stories, over 25 plays (including The Mousetrap, the world’s longest running play), and six novels under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott. Her first novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, introduced the world to the Belgian detective Hercule Poirot, followed a decade later by the shrewd and often-underestimated Miss Marple.
Our Production Would Not Be Possible without the Generous Support of:
Dr. Noni Thomas López
Head of School
Michal Hershkovitz P’16, ’18
Assistant Head of School, Academics
Sarah Bates Head of Upper School
Michael S. Robinson Head of Arts
Ashley Hacker Performing Arts Department Chair
The members of the Performing Arts faculty, the Engagement & Communications Department, the Admissions Department, the Poly Prep IT Staff, the Facilities and Maintenance Department, the Security Staff, the Kitchen Staff, and the Upper School Deans.
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Join Us for These Upcoming Performing Arts Events
Middle School Play: A Midsummer Night’s Dream
by William Shakespeare
RICHARD PERRY THEATRE
Friday, November 14, 2025 | 7:00 PM
Saturday, November 15, 2025 | 2:00 PM
Grades 9 and 10 Play: Emma by
Kate Hamill
RICHARD PERRY THEATRE
Friday, December 12, 2025 | 7:00 PM
Saturday, December 13, 2025 | 2:00 PM
Winter Arts Festival
VISUAL ART | 6:00 PM | TOWER GALLERY
MUSIC CONCERT | 7:00 PM | MEMORIAL CHAPEL
Thursday, December 18, 2025
Afternoon of Student Choreography
RICHARD PERRY THEATRE
Sunday, February 1, 2026 | 3:00 PM
Stay tuned for more information about our upcoming events!
