In
the hands of the wrong person, a cast iron frying pan
can be a dangerous thing, and I'm not talking about burning
the scrambled eggs here. I'm talking about the most heinous
crime of all, murder, and how the cooking implement that
was standard issue for every prospector and fortune -seeker
heading to the Klondike could just as easily be used to
kill someone as it could for cooking a rash of bacon.
In
Vintage Stock Theatre's latest murder mystery dinner theatre
production of "Murder Under The Midnight Sun",
the cast iron frying pan plays a key role in the demise
of the intended victim, but which frying pan and in the
hands of which suspect?
As
in any murder mystery production there are no shortage
of suspects in "Murder Under The Midnught Sun",
the fun part is in trying to figure out which suspect
did it and why?
The
premise of the play is simple, Dawson is chock-a-block
with a cast of characters, all hoping to cash in on gold
fever. There's the prospecting trio of Chester, Fester
and Bester; Molly McButter the the saloon owner and sourdough
biscuit supplier to the North West Mounted Police; Lizzie
B. the laundress; Henry the erstwhile teacher; Perkins
Maloney, the town clerk; Coco, Rose and Matilda, the local
dancing girls; and Cst. Mugford Rush of the aforementioned
North West Mounted Police.
When
Chester, Fester and Bester come to town suspicions immediately
arise after someone attempts to steal Molly McButter`s
famous sourdough recipe. The play is acted out on the
museum grounds, culminating in the mortal demise of Bester
Train, whose head appears to have been caved in by a cast
iron frying pan leaving it up to Cst. Rush and members
of the audience to detemine who the guilty culprit might
be.
As
Vintage Stock murder mysteries go this was by far the
most difficult to figure out, largely because nearly every
character owned a fryng pan, and also because thay all
seemed to have a motive.
The
murder mystery itself was terrifically entertaining thanks
in large part to the script, which was written by local
playwrite and Vintage Stock Theatre founder Susan Flemming,
and the wonderful cast which was a mix of veterans like
Micheline Mathon an Victor Lachance who played Lizzie
B. and Cst. Rush, and newcomers like the mother-son duo
of Andrée and Jacob Benson who played Rose and
Henry.
The
rest of the cast included David Elliot as Chester, Zach
Hanson as Fester, Eric Lafrance as Bester, Sarah Algozino
as Coco, Anne-Carolyne Binette as Matilda, and André
Lacasse as Perkins.
The
production was directed by Sarah Benfield and produced
by Emélie Perron-Clow, with Marseille Lachance,
Jacquie Squires and Gisèle Rivest assisting.
If
you haven`t been to a Vintage Stock murder mystery dinner
theatre production you should seriously mark it on your
calendar for next summer and buy your tickets early. Both
of this year`s performances were sold out.
As
for the theatre company`s next production, they will begin
rehearsals shortly for their Shades of the Evening lamplight
play which will take place on the grounds of the Cumberland
Museum on Sept. 26 and 27, and Oct. 3 and 4. All performances
will begin at 8 p.m. The title of this year`s production
is "Over There, Over Here", written by Marni Hunt-Stephens.
For
more information visit www.vintagestock.on.ca.
(This
story was made possible thanks to the generous support of
our local business partners.)