The De Soto High School Theatre Department will present “The Single Man,” a murder mystery spoof this week.
Showtimes are at 6 p.m. today, Nov. 7, through Saturday in the school’s auditorium, 815 Amvets Drive.
Tickets cost $6 for students and $8 for adults.
The play, written by Don Zolidis, is about a death threat on the set of a fictional hit TV show.
“It’s like a Bachelor-type show, except there’s a little bit of threatening going on, and so they call in a detective because the main guy is really scared and runs off the show,” said De Soto High senior Cameron Blickenstaff, who plays both the lead characters, the bachelor and the detective. “They call me (the detective character) to go undercover to get closer to some of the women and find out who’s threatening us.”
Blickenstaff said the show ends with lots of twists.
Fellow senior Josephine Foster plays Natalia, one of the contestants vying for the bachelor’s love.
“She has this crazy accent, kind of Russian, and she’s just loud,” Foster said. “She’s really fun, just very dramatic and an all-over-the-place kind of character.”
Foster said the play is funny.
“It has a lot of jokes,” she said. “The characters are really defined and creative and they’re loud, and there’s just a lot going on. (There’s a) twist of who is the actual killer.”
Foster said she is proud of the set, which she designed. In addition to being the set designer, she is the props manager and a member of the makeup crew.
Peggy Chandler, another senior, plays Barbie, one of the producers of the “Single Man” show.
She said Barbie is passionate about the TV show and uses the drama surrounding the death threat to try to amp up the ratings.
“I love this show,” said Chandler, who also is an assistant prop manager and publicist for the show. “I really love spoofy shows. There’s a lot of gags. It’s just a lot of fun.”
Josie Guertzgen, a senior, said she plays contestant Shani, a ditzy, feisty blonde no one really likes.
She said “Single Man” is her favorite among the seven plays she’s been part of.
“I love the little tension that builds up through the story,” said Guertzgen, who’s also the costume manager for the show.
Other cast members include seniors Cali Petty, Delaney Martin, Kaitlyn Kamler, David Imhoff and Lexy Northcutt; juniors Kalli Cooper, Melody Pigg, Quinn Williams, Cheyenne Crafton and Alex Trimble; sophomores Drew House, Brynn Hoelzer, Kendall Davis, Mason Martin and Olivia Walker; and freshmen Amelia Richardson and Camden Jahnsen.
De Soto High theater director Samantha Roop is directing the play. Senior Charleigh Smith is the production stage manager, and senior Taylor Pirtle is the production assistant.