Angela Brandt
Havre Daily News
abrandt@havredailynews.com
A real-life Clue game will be played Saturday at the Holiday Village Shopping Center. But, instead of Colonel Mustard in the kitchen with a candlestick, it might be Julianne LaSmith in Herberger's with a high heel.
LaSmith, who is the marketing director for the mall, wrote the interactive murder mystery, “Murder at the Mall,” which will be performed by about a dozen Montana Actors' Theatre members and a few mall employees.
“I wanted to do it because it has never been done here before,” LaSmith said Monday.
Tickets are $100 a couple or $50 per person. Profits will help MAT pay for touring and to expand the troupe and number of performances, MAT president Jay Pyette said. MAT was formed about 16 years ago and includes actors from Havre, Chinook and other Hi-Line towns.
The play is interactive but no one will be put on the spot, Pyette said.
“As the evening progresses, someone will be murdered. Participants will be able to interview and chat with mall employees and actors to get clues and figure it out. They need the motive, location and murder weapon,” Pyette said.
The night's festivities include drinks, dinner, dessert and, of course, a murder. Creative Catering in Chinook will provide the food. A buffet line will include baked ziti and blackened chicken alfredo. Four musical acts, including a pianist and a ukulele player, will perform throughout the night.
The crime solver will win a $500 shopping spree at the mall.
A silent auction to benefit MAT will include items like a guided hunting trip in Canada, a handmade quilt, gift certificates and various items from local artists and merchants.
The play is based on the fact that rumors run rampant in the mall and it will be up to the participants to figure out which rumors are true, LaSmith said. She has taken college drama courses, has written about five plays, and was involved with children's theater in Minnesota.
Sleuths will be given crime-solving notebooks to tally their clues.
The mall will be closed and participants will be able to access every section of the building.
“If they want to win, they have to get off their butt and eavesdrop, ask questions and get involved,” LaSmith said. “All employees and actors have their rumors. It will be up to patrons to get the rumors out of the actors.”
The event will begin promptly at 7 p.m. and will last until 11. The dress is formal.
“It's an adult evening and something different,” LaSmith said.
Tickets are available at the mall, Sears and Gary & Leo's IGA, and from MAT board members.
