By Gracyn Van Bemmel<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The play, \u201cThe Musical Comedy Murders of 1940,\u201d is coming to Hood College Theatre in April.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The show replaces \u201cClue,\u201d which was canceled a week before rehearsals were set to begin because of a problem obtaining usage rights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the beginning of the semester, Aaron Angello, head of the theater program, and Gillian Shelly, this season\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been so fantastic having this program get built up over the last couple of years,\u201d Shelly said. \u201cAnd we just want to celebrate that and celebrate everybody that\u2019s 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\u2019re used to.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cClue\u201d 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 \u201cClue,\u201d HCT was refused the rights to the production, leaving Angello and Shelly to choose another production.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They decided on \u201cThe Musical Comedy Murders of 1940.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The play follows a creative team that ran a recent Broadway show during which three cast members were murdered by a mysterious \u201cStage Door Slasher.\u201d 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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\u2019Reilly, 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This will be Shelly\u2019s second time directing an HCT production, her first being the spring 2022 production of \u201cLittle Women.\u201d She is not affiliated with Hood College but has connections with Angello and Suzanne Beal, who most recently directed last spring\u2019s \u201cThe Heidi Chronicles.\u201d She is experienced with both acting and theater tech.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to Angello, HCT tries to bring in different directors for each performance to allow the actors to get used to different directing styles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Despite directing last semester\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe set is going to be a challenge,\u201d Shelly said. \u201cThis [the black box theatre] is a small space and we really have to figure out the logistics of the space.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI am truly looking forward to this entire process,\u201d Shelly said. \u201cHonestly, I\u2019m 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\u2019re all fantastic people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The show\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"