An air of suspense surrounds an upcoming murder-mystery play.
The Hope Players, formed to raise money for Mary’s House of Hope, will hold its ninth fundraising production, “Murder at the Pie Auction,” on Sept. 18-19 at Faith Community Church, 4824 Scottsdale Road, in House Springs.
Curtain times are 7 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 18, and 3:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 19, with doors opening 30 minutes before show time.
Tickets are $10 each.
Ken Curfman of Imperial, the producer of the play, said he’s concerned about ticket sales this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It was originally scheduled for July, but we postponed it until September,” he said. “We’ve got our fingers crossed that things will get a little better before then.”
To foster social distancing, Curfman said, attendees will be seated at this year’s three performances in a theater-type row configuration rather than at tables.
Family groups – and Curfman stresses that while the play is a murder-mystery, it’s light-hearted and fun with lots of comedy suitable for all ages – will be allowed to sit together, but there will be plenty of space between groups.
“We’ll also be taking donations at the show, with all the proceeds going to Mary’s House of Hope,” he said.
Mary’s House of Hope will provide transitional housing for women who have been victims of domestic abuse. It will provide a place for the women to stay while they work to get back on their feet, find jobs or get education, and find a stable place to live.
The first building is expected to open soon next to A Safe Place, an emergency shelter for women. By providing transitional housing at Mary’s House of Hope, space will be freed up at A Safe Place. Both will be run by Comtrea, which provides healthcare services to the county.
“Murder at the Pie Auction” also will include a real-time auction of pies.
“It’s a scripted play, but we always like to encourage audience involvement,” Curfman said. “I thought, ‘Why not have a real pie auction (rather than a scripted one) and raise a little more money?’ It should add an element of unpredictability to it.”
Curfman said Hope Players is a loosely bound troupe of 30 to 40 people who want to support Mary’s House of Hope.
“A couple of them have experience at the Muny and the Fox; some of them acted in their high school plays and want to get back into it, and a few have never acted before. But everyone’s enthusiastic about doing something to help Mary’s House of Hope,” he said.
Not every member of Hope Players appears in every production.
“Some have conflicts, but we always seem to have just enough people to put on the play we want to perform each time,” Curfman said.
Cast members for “Murder at the Pie Auction” include Monica Lee, Rosanne Wilfley, Dawn Blanton, Jennifer Stokes, Sean Rieke, Keith Griffith, Cindy Sherrill, Jan Satterfield, Chase Mabrey, Karen Nolen and Christy Tarble.
“And I have a cameo part,” Curfman said.
Monica Lee of House Springs, who has experience in community theater, will direct the cast.
The group has been rehearsing on Zoom conference calls since February, but started meeting in person over the last month.
“The Zoom experience has been interesting, to say the least,” Curfman said.
Previous productions have raised about $40,000 toward the construction of the first Mary’s House of Hope facility, Curfman said.
For ticket reservations or more information, call 636-525-1126.