Opelika Theatre Company to hold mystery dinner Oct. 25
By Anna-Claire Terry
Staff Reporter
For those who enjoy the game of Clue, the game will come to life on Oct. 24 and 25 at the Opelika Theatre Company’s murder mystery dinner. Although the Oct. 24 show at Irish Bred Pub is sold out, the “whodunit” improv theatre experience will be offered again at Niffer’s Oct. 25.
The play is called “Creature Features” and is a product of playwright Phyllis Appleby, director of Death Du Jour Murder Mystery Theatre in Memphis. The production stars Godiva Bee (played by Marty Moore, a founding member of the Opelika Theatre Company) and her brother Archie. “Godiva Bee is the super sleuth who goes around the world solving murder mysteries, and Archie is the idiot who thinks he’s the solver of al mysteries,” Moore said. There will be a total of eight actors in the production, and audience members have a chance to be selected to participate. However, there will be no script, and the selected audience members will not see the story line until the night of the dinner. Moore said this is where a lot of the comedy comes from.
After selling out of the Saturday show at Irish Bred Pub, the group was quick to get the ball rolling on the Sunday show at Niffer’s. “We had such an overwhelming response that we had to do a second show,” Moore said. “I didn’t really expect this. It is just going off the charts.” The second show will be from 6-9 p.m. The cost of a ticket is $38, and that covers admission to the show and a three-course meal. Moore also notes that Niffer’s is handicap accessible and assures parents that the show is not scary at all. “We wanted to make it family-friendly,” she said. To reserve your seat, call Moore at 663-4480.
Moore said she got the idea for the improv dinner theatre from a small theatre group she was a part of in Memphis. The purpose of the event is to raise start-up money for the Opelika Theatre Company, which was created by several Opelika residents with a love of theatre. According to Moore, it was OHS student Abby Rush and her father Steve who first had the idea and sent out emails to prospective members. The group was founded on Aug. 5 with a mission “to empower, enlighten and involve the communites to stimulate and develop their inner creative talents in writing, acting, music, dance, design and leadership by providing quality entertainment for our communities shows; and to carve paths not yet traveled.”
The Opelika Theatre Company meets at Round House on Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m. and is open to the community. Those interested in joining are encouraged to attend a meeting. Future plans include focusing on local artists, producing up to four shows a year and and having a children’s show.
“We are going to encourage other people to step outside of their box,” Moore said.