One big 'Hollow' mystery: Why does it take 3 hours?

THE HOLLOW, Old Lyric Repertory Company, Caine Lyric Theatre, Logan, through Aug. 5 (435-797-0305). Running time: nearly three hours (one intermission).

LOGAN — As the Agatha Christie mystery "The Hollow" nears its conclusion, patrons are left with a mixed blessing. And one confusing thought.

The blessing? A generally strong cast, many performing difficult character roles, and the opportunity the see the actors lose themselves in the parts. And a production that is a bit different from normal summer fare.

The reason it's mixed? The play is too long. Simple as that. Just minutes shy of three hours, and patrons grew restless and began rehearsing in their minds where the production could be trimmed.

Add to that the mental exercise needed to keep up with an American cast striving to present their best British accents and, well, it was tiring.

The "who" of the whodunnit came just in time. Unfortunately, the "dunnit" portion may not have come soon enough. Building the tension and setting the scenario in which the characters will try to work through a murder took several costume changes and pushed the production to intermission.

There are also constant references by several characters to "something" that happened to the family in the past, which no one wants to bring up, which is never resolved, which seems immaterial to the story at hand, and which slows down the pacing.

The cast, though, directed by Colin Johnson, is top-drawer.

In an English country manor south of London, we meet the odd Angkatell family, headed by Lady Angkatell, played by Jackie Fullmer. Then there's Sir Henry Angkatell (Lee Daily); Midge Harvey (Chrislynn Call), a niece; Henrietta Angkatell (Kindra Steenerson), another niece; Edward Angkatell (Kent Hadfield), a nephew; and the servants, with emphasis on butler Cudgeon (Jed Broberg).

Visiting the home for the weekend is physician John Cristow (Philip R. Lowe) and his wife Gerda (Amy Lewis). An actress in love with Dr. Cristo, Veronica Graye, (played by Amber Dawn LaBau, doing her best Jessica Rabbit imitation) interrupts the serene setting.

After the murder — and, yes, you'll have to see it to find out who is killed and who did the killing — we are introduced to Inspector Colquhoun (Ron King) and Detective Penny (Richie Call).