Actors in the murder-in-the-library mystery gathered at the final moment to find out who did it.They are, from left, Denise Haas,Angela Lynn, Bennett Gulstrom, Jim Simpson, Paul Ellinger, Lynn Reynolds, Luci Trahan, Kay Stephens, Paula Mcgee, Brenda Morga
Students from the Linden-Kildare High School culinary program assisted with the Linden Library’s first dinner theater fund raiser.They were,front row,from left,Cadey Stiger,Caitlyn Stiger,Kaitlynn Shetrow,Elizabeth Farris and Rosie Cervantes. Back row,A
Lindenite Lucy Trahan is playing a sporting role in the town’s first dinner theater event last week. She’s part of the “murder in the library” mystery and may have done it herself.
Rosie Cervantes with the L-K High School culinary class is serving properly for the Linden library dinner theater event.
MURDER MYSTERY
Linden’s first dinner theater and murderin- the-library mystery drew a crowd last Friday night.
Some 99 patrons filled the Senior Citizens Center to dine and be entertained.
Some even voted correctly in the last act to reveal who had done the evil deed.
It turned out it was town mayor Lynn Reynolds. But even Reynolds did not know she had done the deed. No one of the 10 actors did, said the town librarian and play script writer Denise Haas.
“We just kept the real mystery from everyone,” Haas said.
The library’s first dinner theater was also something of an imitation. Haas had attended a dinner theater event for the Hughe Springs Library recently and decided Linden could have its own.
“It only required the high school culinary department to do the food and serving — for class credit as well — and then we would sell tickets and act out the parts.”
Haas checked with library enthusiast Kay Stephens who was excited and said, “How many tickets?”
“Maybe 35 at $25 each?” Haas asked. “That’s about what Hughes Springs did.”
“How about 100?” Stephens said. And so it was done. People just turned out and bought.
Some 10 at a time. “We had 99,” Haas said. The chef for the evening was Ann Knopp, L-K faculty member and culinary chair.
The event was so successful Haas is considering doing it quarterly. That’ll give everyone time to put together a real mystery, maybe let the audience vote again or even participate.
Who knows what the library, high school and community thespians might do? Success is pleasant because Linden’s library must earn community support to keep its doors open, the librarian tells.
Here are six scenes from the evening.