Murder Mystery
Tue, 2015-10-27 05:00
News Staff
Thespians hold mystery dinner theater Saturday
By LYNETTE SOWELL
The stage at Lea Ledger Auditorium was transformed into a dining room, complete with red tablecloths, candles and a spaghetti dinner, but no sooner did the dinner guests finish their meals, than a murder occurred during the one-act play, Dinner At Eight, Dead By Nine.
Eleanor Van Heusen met an untimely end when all the lights went out. A patron of the local theater guild for 20 years, Van Heusen had her enemies—and they were all present at the dinner where she ended up face-first on the table.
The murder mystery/comedy unfolded with the audience getting an up-front view of the story, with actors weaving in and out among the tables and interacting with the guests. Accusations flew around the room as those present tried to ferret out the truth.
The role of Nick, the character playing host to the dinner theatre, was played by Houston Smith. Bnngler, the somewhat inebriated detective, was played by Charles Pickens. The part of Desmond, Van Heusen’s nephew, who stood to gain the most by her death, was played by Dylan Olmstead. Desmond’s wife, Hadley, a New England socialite (or is she, really?) was played by Ruth Lautenschlager. Ramona, the acerbic chef, was played by Megan Mossman. Bailey Vanhecke played the part of Maggie, who works for Van Heusen and has her own motive for killing the woman. Darby, Van Heusen’s granddaughter who was written out of the will, was played by Becky Rodriguez, with Scott Wild playing the part of Tommy, her hapless boyfriend. Nora Dumond, the first suspect, was played by Lois Wright. The part of Dr. Rank, a veterinarian, was played by Austin Underwood. The part of the grand dame herself, Eleanor Van Heusen, was played by Mirko Enriquez.
In spite of the rainy day and evening, the weather didn’t keep the crowd away, with the students having to set up two more tables to accommodate the audience on Saturday night.
The CCHS productions class hosted performances on Thursday and Saturday evening, raising funds for the Drama Dawgs Booster Club and also to benefit the Copperas Cove Animal Shelter.
For Saturday’s performance, in lieu of purchasing tickets, dinner guests could enter with a donation of items for the shelter. A box at the admission desk held large bags of dog food, packages of dog toys, and a multi-pack of cat food, which will all go to the shelter.
The productions class is an upper lever theatre class offered to juniors and seniors who have been active in the theatre department throughout their high school careers.
CCHS Drama Department Chair Molli Maybury said the class has been working on the play since school began and they will have another one-act play in December, the next one a drama.