Garrettsville – The Garrettsville Curtains Up Theatre will present “Murder at the Haunted School” whodunit on Saturday, October 22 with all proceeds going to Nelson Garrettsville Community Cupboard (NGCC). Doors open at 4 p.m. at J.A. Garfield School Campus for this totally immersive murder-mystery dinner theatre fundraiser.
This multi-faceted evening of suspenseful entertainment will include a murder mystery show, an investigation card, appetizers and dinner buffet, a 50/50 Raffle and Chinese auction baskets.
The murder mystery is built upon a rumor that someone may be killed. Clues to solving the murder are hidden deep within the haunted school, explains Curtains Up Director, Jackie Loreta-Rinearson, who also wrote the script. She has written each annual murder mystery since she founded Curtains Up Theatre in 2006; her first show was in 2007.
Attendees will be the detectives, assembling at the high school auditorium for a briefing, enjoying some appetizers and then being sent to several classrooms throughout the high school to gather the necessary clues to solve the crime. After gathering clues and information, attendees will then head to the elementary school for the final act, dinner, and the crime’s solution. Dinner will be choice of spaghetti or chicken/broccoli Alfredo, salad, rolls, dessert and beverage.
Setting the stage for murder will be community actors Dave Hess, Chuck Milko, Elisha Bly, Jeff Rinearson, Jackie Rinearson, Samantha Schwab, Clair Workman and Sharon Vandervort. Behind the scenes in the haunted rooms will be Shawn and Katie Cisney and Shannon Mallory.
Reflecting upon her long career in Garrettsville’s community theatre, Rinearson says, “Live theatre brings people together that may never have met in any other way. When you are out there exposing your raw feelings together, you are all at the same level. You become an instant family and develop deep friendships. I am now attending the weddings and baby showers of some of my first actors that were in high school when I started. The older actors’ children are getting married; they are becoming grandparents and we all get to celebrate together. This is why I do what I do, I am blessed to have such a large family.”
This murder-mystery night out is the Nelson Garrettsville Community Cupboard’s primary fundraiser. The non-profit organization provides food on an emergency basis to eligible families living in the James A. Garfield School District. The NGCC also operates the Weekend SnackPack Program which provides healthy snack foods to eligible students in the school district at no cost. NGCC operates solely on contributions from the community.
Tickets are available at the Villager on Main Street, the YMCA, or online at ngccportage.org/tickets. Only 150 tickets will be sold for the four-hour event: $30 per person; $50 per couple. Call 330-527-2011 for reservations.
