By Krissy Proctor
Copy Editor
Suspense never tasted so sinfully sweet. After the successful production of “Scrooge: the Musical” last December, Bryan College’s Hilltop Players are preparing to present their third play of the season-Lucille Fletcher’s murder mystery “Night Watch.”
Beginning on Jan. 31, students, faculty and members of the Dayton community alike will have the opportunity to reserve one of 96 seats in Brock Hall for a chance to solve the puzzling “whodunit.” Served throughout the week along with this confusing conundrum will be a dish of brownies and ice cream. Friday’s performance will be accompanied with a full meal.
“We really wanted to perform something that would work well with the dessert theater,” said Jared Cole, associate professor of theater and director of “Night Watch.” “We wanted something the audience could participate in, something that would get them thinking – like solving a mystery from ‘CSI’ or ‘Law and Order.’”
The play centers on the story of Elaine Wheeler, played by sophomore Lucy Moore, who believes she has seen a dead body in the abandoned house across the street. Upon police investigation, no evidence of any murder can be found, leading both Elaine and those around her to speculate on whether she ever saw anything in the first place.
“The ending definitely caught me off guard,” Cole said with a laugh. “And that is pretty hard to do. I really enjoyed it.”
Though the stage and a few other props are not yet completed, sophomore Luke Fox, who plays Mr. John Wheeler, says he is excited to see everything finally coming together.
“I wasn’t sure what I thought at first, everything was a little stunted and it didn’t feel like it was being performed. But last week everything started coming together. I’m telling everyone to come and see this…people out of town too,” he said.
Moore says she too is excited about the upcoming premiere, despite troubles she has had playing such a mentally unstable personality.
“There is a lot of pressure in playing the lead and it can be hard to get in and out of such a dark character, but I’ve been helped a lot by the cast. The more they get into their characters, the easier it is for me to stay in mine. It has been such an honor to work with everyone,” she said.
Tickets will be available while seating lasts, with students paying $8 for a dessert theater performance and $16 for Friday’s dinner theater. Regular tickets are $11 for dessert nights and $20 for dinner.