Out of the Box readies for evening of fun, mystery
Bonner County Daily Bee | UPDATED 1 hour, 39 minutes AGO
Out of the Box members pose for a group photo as they prepare for the theater company's upcoming murder mystery. Pictured in the back row, from left, are Joshua Herder, Chris Coote, Josiah VanMeer, Daniel Cook and Butch Lee. Pictured in the front row, from left, are Shannon Holifield, Chris Reichert, Linda Cassella, Erin Zinke and Beth Ann Sturgeon.
Put on your tux or evening gown (or your favorite jeans and cowboy boots) and strut your stuff on the red carpet as Out of the Box Entertainment presents a night of mystery and fun next month.
The audience-participation murder mystery is directed by Donna Maki, written by Tony Schwartz and Marylou Ambrose, and is produced by special arrangement with The Lakeside Players, Tafton, PA, with special thanks to Assistant Director Shannon Holifield, Web Designer Yvonne Clark and Marketing Assistant Audrey Reichert.
To set the scene:
Maître d' Butch Lee is welcoming guests to the TonyLou Awards Show, while celebrity gossip columnist Conrad Gabbles (Josiah VanMeer) greets (and insults) his fellow celebrity attendees. The show is then turned over to beloved host T.J. Hardcastle (Daniel Cook), heir of the famous singing, dancing and flying Hardcastles. T.J. sings the famous TonyLou theme song, and the ceremony is officially underway!
But wait, is there trouble in paradise?
Has-been movie star Louie Lush (Joshua Herder) is toting more booze than the Budweiser Clydesdales. Monty Carlo (Chris Coote) might be a star in his own country, but his English is almost unintelligible. Celia B. DeMilo (Beth Ann Sturgeon) has a weakness for young men, and her newest boy-toy, Claude-Jean Van Dumbe, (Chris Reichert) will do anything to become a star.
M.J. Hardcastle (Linda Cassella) carries a grudge against her brother and his wife, Angelina Canoli (Erin Zinke), who "wins” an award every year. Is Funky Brewster (Shannon Holifield) as adorable as she appears, or is there a nasty secret lurking under that innocent exterior?
The fact is, everyone has a nasty secret, so audience members will need to keep their eyes and ears open and gather clues because someone is about to be ruthlessly murdered, and it’s up to them to guess "whodunit" and why. Prizes will be awarded to the first three people to correctly guess both the murderer and the motive.
The curtain rises on the first show Friday, Sept. 18, at Positively Fourth Street in Priest River.
For more information on show dates and reservations, visit outoftheboxentertainment.org, find them on Facebook, or call Donna Maki at 509-671-1442.