The case of the missing children’s choir

I
t’s not every day you get to have an enjoyable meal and sit down to enjoy a live play at the same time. But these types of events are among my favorite. These cherished moments give you a couple of hours to fill your tummy, watch a live performance with all the humor that inevitably accompanies such, and forget the weather, the news, or any other troubles for a time. For that, I am grateful to Gateway Fellowship and its youth department.
With about 30 volunteers, including nine actors and three musicians, Gateway Fellowship filled the  Event Center at the fairgrounds on Saturday evening with 110 diners, who enjoyed a three-course meal along with a three-act “who done it.” The event was to raise funds for a fire-alarm system in their new building on Old Highway 85. 
“We raised over $2,600.00,” said Jon Anderson, pastor of Gateway Fellowship. “It was a huge success.”
The over-the-top melodrama, complete with larger-than-life characters, kept the audience laughing and engaged. But calling this a “who done it” is a bit deceiving. While it played as a murder mystery, complete with a trenchcoat-wearing, pipe-smoking private eye named Inspector Casey Solved (played by Jonathan Anderson), it wasn’t a murder mystery. Instead, a children’s choir had gone missing. Who stole those choir members? That was the mystery.
And it was full of misdirection, up-and-coming romances by starry-eyed young women (and even one not-so-young woman) and goofy characters. Some of those were not so bright either, lending lots of laughs, corny jokes and misdirection. I got many laughs from Asia Graham, who played an empty-headed blond named Ariel “Ari” Head with a significant comedic effect. I think she was my favorite character.
The real twist on this play was the fact that none of the cast members knew who done it. Between the ham dinner courses, the cast handed out three super clues to each table. After the insanity of the story was over, the ensemble handed out ballots so each person could vote for who they thought “done it.” Then the cast members swept through the audience and took up the votes, each character taking only those who voted for them. Once completed, the cast was on stage again, and Inspector Solved read off a paper for each character, stating they didn’t do it -- until the very end. Each character then read from those sheets, sometimes breaking up in the process. Remember, this part was new to each of them, so this was the first time they got exposure to their innocence and their reasons for some of the more ridiculous actions they were involved in. Hilarious doesn’t even come close to some of the surprises here, including references to the classic board game Clue, which probably got the biggest laughs of all. In the end, it was the older lady, Cassandra “Cassie” Role, played by News Letter Journal’s own KateLynn Slaamot, who done it! On a side note of pride, both my wife and I voted for her.
Overall, the whole event went without a hitch. The food was good, and the kids who served everyone were enthusiastic and well trained to carry out their jobs. You never went long without water, lemonade, hot chocolate or coffee. The servers were on the spot making sure everyone received good service. The dinner service was just as good, and there was plenty for everyone. 
The only complaint I would have is probably because my hearing isn’t as fair as other people’s. I would love to see additional speakers placed in the back of the room for those who sat the farthest from the stage. I did occasionally miss a few lines. I think a bit of a tweak to the sound system would eliminate that.
Other than that, the whole event was great. Lucas Stolhammer and Nate Smith supplied music before the start of the show, as people were coming in. The two musicians played guitar well and sang some country/gospel music. They were very entertaining and helped to settle the crowd and take up time as the actors got ready for the play to start.
Emma Anderson played an electronic keyboard during the play, giving us the atmospheric, melodramatic music, which was also amusing. Brittany Hamilton played the mistress of ceremonies, Iva Meddlesome, with overdramatic aplomb. The whole cast kept in character in between acts as they meandered around the crowd interacting with the audience. Each character knew their lines well and delivered them expertly. The acting was over the top, but that is normal in a melodrama. You would probably miss that aspect of the play if it weren’t there. One more detail that I thought worked well for the play, as well as the audience. The crew pulled the accordion room dividers in the event center to the edge of the stage, completely obstructing the view of what was taking place backstage, and that was a pleasant lack of distraction.
All in all, it was a wonderful evening, a perfect Valentine’s Day date night for couples and just a fun family event. This is the type of evening our community needs in these weird times. It provided a perfect get-away-from-it-all atmosphere for everyone.