Director's Chair - Murder on the Mesa

A show is more than just one actor or prop; it’s a team effort, and Cheryl Crabb, the Director of Murder on the Mesa, got to see everyone’s part come together for the first time last night at Saint Monica’s in Chippewa.  The youth ministries hired R-ACT to perform for their fundraiser, and it was a smashing (literally) success as one character knocks out the murderer with a whiskey bottle after a big fight scene.  To find out who those unnamed heroes are, come see the show.

Cheryl wants to thank everyone, though, for their hard work and dedication.   The cast had some late arrivals to the scene that amazed everyone with their quick line memorization, dedication, and positive energy.  It isn’t just Cheryl who’d like to thank Larry Brosius (Hank Trent) and Diane Brosius (Miss Julie) as all the cast and crew are grateful to them for stepping in within the last couple weeks to make this show a success.  All the cast members have worked so well together now, you won’t even be able to tell that we’ve only had about two weeks with a full cast.

This isn’t Larry Spinnenweber’s first rodeo with writing murder mysteries for R-ACT, but it is his first western.  No matter what the setting, though, it’s always fun to perform one of Larry’s shows, and Cheryl’s favorite part is seeing who the audience believes is the murderer and what their motive is.  Last night’s performance was no exception, and in the end, almost all the Whiskey Flats residents were accused by the audience so it may be more difficult for you to solve the murder than you think.

Cheryl has loved many moments of rehearsal, and it’s still evolving as we attempt to make it an even funnier show.  Some of the most memorable for Cheryl are:

The fight scene created by two cast members which is worthy of any old western.

Maybelle (Meredith Weber) attempting to say vigilante.

Sal's (Bridget Yeager) low aim with the shotgun.

Tom's (Eric Armstrong) dinner invitation to Maybelle to Mac Donald’s Restaurant, which made me laugh so hard every rehearsal.

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