By Gracyn Van Bemmel
The play, “The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940,” is coming to Hood College Theatre in April.
The show replaces “Clue,” which was canceled a week before rehearsals were set to begin because of a problem obtaining usage rights.
At the beginning of the semester, Aaron Angello, head of the theater program, and Gillian Shelly, this season’s director, had decided to do a production that would be fun, farcical and exciting. A murder mystery comedy sounded like the right kind of play.
“It’s been so fantastic having this program get built up over the last couple of years,” Shelly said. “And we just want to celebrate that and celebrate everybody that’s been working on it, in the tech and crew, in the cast. So, it was important that we do a show with a little bit larger cast than we’re used to.”
“Clue” was cast, but then Angello received an email from the Dramatists Play Service, the organization that HCT buys show rights from. Due to there being a national tour of “Clue,” HCT was refused the rights to the production, leaving Angello and Shelly to choose another production.
They decided on “The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940.”
The play follows a creative team that ran a recent Broadway show during which three cast members were murdered by a mysterious “Stage Door Slasher.” The team, along with other characters, assembles for an audition of a new show at the wealthy estate of a potential investor. However, everyone begins to realize that the murderer is among them as people start mysteriously dying in gruesome ways.
The play stars Rebecca Carroll as the maid Helsa Wenzel, Alicia Bishop as the wealthy investor Elsa Von Grossenknueten, Devin Everett as undercover cop Michael Kelly, Morrigan Petherick as Irishman Patrick O’Reilly, Victor Mejia as director Ken De La Maize, Shirley Gonzalez as chorus girl Nikki Crandall, Kadem Hodge as comedian Eddie McCuen, Olivia Campbell as Broadway producer Marjorie Baverstock, Elyssa Rowell as composer Roger Hopewell and Rachel Shaw as lyricist Bernice Roth.
This will be Shelly’s second time directing an HCT production, her first being the spring 2022 production of “Little Women.” She is not affiliated with Hood College but has connections with Angello and Suzanne Beal, who most recently directed last spring’s “The Heidi Chronicles.” She is experienced with both acting and theater tech.
According to Angello, HCT tries to bring in different directors for each performance to allow the actors to get used to different directing styles.
Despite directing last semester’s show, this semester Angello will be heading the crew and the technical aspects of the production, such as the props and set, which will include secret bookcase passageways that move and an actual grand piano.
“The set is going to be a challenge,” Shelly said. “This [the black box theatre] is a small space and we really have to figure out the logistics of the space.”
The cast might experience some challenges as well throughout the rehearsal process, as many of the characters have strong accents, ranging from German to Irish.
“I am truly looking forward to this entire process,” Shelly said. “Honestly, I’m looking forward to working with such a big cast and crew. I think they all work very hard to make this theater department what it is, and they’re all fantastic people.”
The show’s performances will be April 19 and April 20 at 7:00 p.m. and April 21 at 2:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. in the Blackbox Theatre in the Tatem Arts Center.
Be the first to comment