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Arts Council to Present “I’m Getting Murdered in the Morning” Dinner Theatre

The cast and crew for the Clare County Arts Council’s dinner theatre I’m Getting Murdered in the Morning includes (from left, back row) Loren Gray, Cindy Heintz, Todd Diederich, Kim Claringbold, Tom Claringbold, Kathleen Meadowcroft, (center row) Cherie Bell Brown, Director Kurt Hansen, Producer Paule Clark, Tanya Ehrsam, (front row) Rion Rodweller, and Clayton Conley.

The Clare County Arts Council and its theatre group, Acting Up! in Mid Michigan, will present a comedic murder mystery play, complete with a delicious buffet, at the Doherty Hotel in Clare during the Memorial Day Weekend. I’m Getting Murdered in the Morning, a play written by Lee Mueller, offers the audience a combination of comedy, intrigue and mystery, as well as the chance to solve the murder!

The play, described as a hilarious romp into the intricacies of a wedding reception, will be presented at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 27th, Friday, May 28th and Saturday, May 29th. Doors open at 6:00 p.m. each evening. Tickets for the dinner theatre, which are $30 in advance and $35 at the door, are available from the Doherty Hotel as well as several businesses and the public libraries in Clare, Farwell and Harrison.

The play opens just like an ordinary wedding reception, with all the flair and excitement over Brenda and Eddie’s nuptials. But things soon take a darker twist, as a mysterious dead man is discovered on the dance floor! Luckily, the bride’s father (the wealthy Harold Montague) invited damage-control expert Mr. Parker to the event to handle any “situations”. Parker tries to spin the murder as “nothing to worry about,” but society columnist Mary Berger insists that this could be the “Society Scandal” of the year.

Who could have done this? And, who had something to gain? It seems the mysterious guest has ties to both the groom’s and bride’s families. As the play progresses, it becomes apparent that both sides have secrets they do not wish to reveal. The audience will get to use their own detective skills to question the parties involved, and even vote on the most likely culprit!

The play is directed by Kurt Hansen of Gladwin and produced by Paule Clark of Farwell. Hansen, a retired circuit court judge for Clare and Gladwin counties, has over 25 years of theatre experience. He has performed in numerous plays and musicals with the Bay City Players, the Van Buren Street Theatre, Mid Michigan Community College and the Gladwin Friends of the Theatre. Clark grew up in the theatre, with her family involved with community theatre in Dolton, Illinois. Clark has worked backstage on many plays, including productions by the West Shore Community College theatre department and the Grand Rapids Ballet.

“We are excited to be putting on another dinner theatre,” said Clark. “Our first production, Lafferty’s Wake, was a wonderful success and we hope to provide another great night of entertainment. The cast for the play is very diverse in their backgrounds, levels of experience, occupations and even their hometowns. It’s a fun group of people who’ve come together because of their love of theatre.”

The bride, Brenda Montague, is played by Cherie Bell Brown of Clare. Bell Brown has had roles in both high school and college productions, and graduated from CMU with a degree in interpersonal public communications. Clayton Conley, also of Clare, plays Edward Crock, the “good ol’ boy” groom. Conley is a member of the Farwell Thespian Society, a graduate of Michigan State University with a bachelor’s degree in psychology, and a member of the U.S. Air Force Inactive Reserves.

Best Man Benny Tutwalder and Maid of Honor Bunny Kelly are played by Rion Rodweller of Farwell and Tanya Ehrsam of Clare. Rodweller has been in numerous plays, including Rumors, Barefoot in the Park, Dr. Cook’s Garden and The Diary of Anne Frank. Ehrsam, who works for Crystal Computer Support, Inc., in Mt. Pleasant, takes on her first acting role as the “nerdy” Bunny.

The wealthy parents of the bride are played by Loren Gray (Harold Montague) of Eight Point Lake and Kathleen Meadowcroft (Mildred Montague) of Clare. Gray, a retired attorney, has a speech degree from Central Michigan University and is very active in the arts council. Meadowcroft is the secretary of the arts council, but may be best known for her role as a nun in Lafferty’s Wake and a drunken pilot in the group’s youth theatre presentation at last year’s Summerfest Celebration in Clare. Cindy Heintz of Harrison makes her acting debut as the mother of the groom (Sheila Coquette), but in real life is the Deputy Treasurer at the Clare County Treasurer’s Office.

The smooth, P.R. guy for the Montagues, Mr. Parker, is played by Dr. Thomas Claringbold II, an ophthalmologist from Clare who played Charlie Lafferty in Lafferty’s Wake. His antagonist at the reception, the nosey reporter Mary Burger, is played by Kim Claringbold. Kim handles press relations and promotions for the arts council, and played a nun in Lafferty’s Wake.

Keeping the reception moving is the smart-aleck disc jockey, played by Todd Diederich of Harrison, a partner in the law firm of Dreyer, Hovey & Diederich, LLP. Diederich has had roles as Andy Warhol, a mafia don and a cowboy named winking Willy in murder mysteries produced by the Harrison Chamber of Commerce. A few cameo appearances and a “special guest” round out the cast for I’m Getting Murdered in the Morning.

Tickets are available in advance at the following locations in Clare: Doherty Hotel, Pere Marquette District Library, Cops & Doughnuts, Coffee Talk, and Maxwell’s Flowers. Tickets can also be purchased in Farwell at Elm Creek and the public library, in Mt. Pleasant at Mission Pharmacy and in Harrison at Dreyer, Hovey & Diederich, LLP, and the public library.

For more information, please contact the Clare County Arts Council at 989-246-4592.