A Masterful Whodunnit
Little Colonel Players to stage
‘A Party to Murder’ in January
The audience will have to solve the murder in the play
PEWEE VALLEY, Ky. (January 2017) – Everyone loves a good mystery, and the latest production at the Little Colonel Playhouse in Pewee Valley, Ky., will not disappoint amateur sleuths. Known for their variety of plays, the Little Colonel Players will keep the audience spellbound for an entire evening with this thriller.
“A Party to Murder” is a murder mystery, just as the name implies, said Erika Wardlow, stage manager for the play. “It takes place in a rustic cottage on an island. Guests have been invited there to play a murder game.”
"A Party to Murder" (502) 588-1557 |
As a storm ranges outside, six guests have been invited by writer Charles Prince to Ontario’s Cassandra Lakes. They are expecting a weekend of fun until ghosts from the past began to haunt them. Guests suddenly begin to die, and the remaining players realize they are playing a deadly game for their lives.
The guests encounter secret passageways, incriminating letters, hidden compartments and a 25-year-old, unsolved murder mystery. “The Oxford Press” described “A Party to Murder” as “enough to turn Dame Agatha green with envy.”
“A Party to Murder” will be shown at the Little Colonel Playhouse, located at 302 Mt. Mercy Drive in Pewee Valley, on Jan. 13-14, Jan. 19-21 at 7:30 p.m. A matinee is scheduled to be performed at 2 p.m. on Jan. 15 and Jan. 22.
The audience will have the daunting job of “figuring out who committed the murder,” said Wardlow. “This play is one of my favorites I’ve read. It is directed by a seasoned director Jeff Mangum.”
Wardlow said she became involved with the Little Colonel Players eight or nine years ago. She was asked to be on the board of directors three years ago and is currently president of the board.
“A Party to Murder” was chosen by a play reading committee, she said. All six members gave their input on the play and voted on it. Open auditions were held on Nov. 6-7.
The Little Colonel Playhouse offers a variety of plays each season. “We have strived over the last 18 months to appeal to a younger audience,” said Wardlow, by providing more diversity among the plays performed. “We even had our first musical.”
The Little Colonel Players began in 1956. The group met regularly in members’ houses until they were able to purchase their own building, which dates to the early 1900s.
There are three remaining plays for the 2016-2017 season: “Bakersfield Mist,” “Quartet” and “Much Ado Out West.” One youth show is also performed each season in addition to five plays.
“A Party to Murder” was written by Marcia Kash and Douglass E. Hughes. Writing partners since 1991, their first two plays “Who’s Under Where?” and “A Party to Murder” has seen more than 100 productions worldwide. “A Party to Murder” has been extremely popular in the United Kingdom and has been described by The Kentucky Recorder as “Thrills, Christie fashion. A superb climax.”
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Together, the pair has collaborated on five plays. “Who’s Under Where?” was translated into six languages. Their latest play, “Something Fishy,” won the Tom Hendry award for Best New Comedy and premiered in the summer of 2016 at the Lighthouse Festival Theatre in Port Dover.
Kash is an accomplished director, dramaturg and actor. She trained as an actor at England’s Drama Centre and began her career at the Royal Court Theatre in London. She has performed in many plays, taking on roles such as Lady Macbeth in “Macbeth,” Madame de Tourvel in “Les Liaisons Dangereuses,” Stella in “A Streetcar Named Desire” and Rita in the Canadian premier of “Educating Rita.”
A prolific writer, Douglass E. Hughes has written a one-act comedy, “Taken for Granted,” three screen plays and a novel, “The Poor Player.” Hughes has been a professional actor since 1979, working onstage, in TV, film and radio across Canada and the United States. In 2008 Hughes received a Dora nomination for his portrayal of Alfie Byrne in Acting UpStages’ production of “A Man of No Importance.”