Sweet mystery

Customers at Cold Stone Creamery were a little shocked to see an Agatha Christie story play out in front of them Wednesday night, but it could be the key to promoting theater in the Valley in new ways.

Agatha Christie's Murder After Hours opens Oct. 25 at the Fred and Sara Machetanz Theatre, and the promotion at the Wasilla ice cream store is one way the cast is promoting the opening.

Director Larry Bottjen, a VPA veteran since the first season 27 years ago, said events like the Cold Stone event are nontraditional ways of helping theater grow. While traditional ways of promotion are important, new ideas are just as important.

"It's a different way of thinking, definitely," Bottjen said. "For years I've struggled with the notion of why people get in their cars in the winter and go down to CARRS and buy their tickets and show up at the theater. I wonder if it is the posters they see, or the advertising they see, or what?

"I've come to the conclusion that word of mouth advertising is about the most important thing. If you make people excited about the show and get them talking about it, people will come," Bottjen said. "This event was another way to get people thinking about the theater who may not have been thinking about it before."

At the Cold Stone event, the cast and crew showed up in full costume and ran through Murder After Hours, complete with specially named desserts being served.

The customers got to vote on who they thought the villain was, and basically got a glimpse of the production before it opens.

"It was really fun. The most fun, I think, was the reaction of the people there who had no idea it was happening," Bottjen said. "We used it as a chance to talk about the show and tried to sell some tickets to Murder After Hours."

The murder-mystery is of a different pace than VPA viewers have come to expect. It will be more interactive than ever before, just like the Cold Stone event.

"At intermission, we are going to be passing out pieces of paper and asking people to write down who they think did it, and at the end, we'll be giving away 10 desserts at Cold Stone Creamery to those who got it right," Bottjen said. "It's another way we can get the audience energized."

At intermission, Bottjen said there will be other specials VPA regulars may not be used to. Special mugs are available for purchase, complete with the Murder After Hours logo. They'll be filled with drinks like the "Spinetingler," "The Butler Did It," "Certain Death" and "The Smoking Gun."

Murder After Hours is also being presented on Thursdays, including on Halloween, as special student shows. It's something Bottjen is glad to see.

"It is one of my favorite things. Thursday is usually a 'pickup rehearsal' night for the upcoming weekend, but I'd rather use those nights as student shows.

"You have to be there and go through the show anyway. If you are a little rusty from three days being off, that's OK because it's a student show," Bottjen said. "We're even doing it on Halloween as an alternative for students."

Those shows begin at 7 p.m. rather than 8 p.m. so students can still get home at a reasonable hour. While adults pay full price for the special Thursday shows, students will pay only $5.

Bottjen said that the normal starting time of 8 p.m. makes it almost impossible to attract younger audiences.

"Then, you are limited to high school students," he said. "It just gets to be too late."

The play's cast includes veterans and VPA newcomers alike.

"I try to bring in as many new people as I can, but it is nice to always have a couple of veterans around who are steady," Bottjen said. "We've got a great mix of people in the cast. We've got three fresh new faces, a couple others with a little experience, and about six longtime VPA members."

Murder After Hours opens next weekend

A peaceful soiree at the Hollow, a country estate in England, is suddenly interrupted by a round of gunshots during some seemingly innocent target practice. One bullet, however, fatally finds a human target. No one has an alibi. Everyone has a motive.

In the newest Valley Performing Arts production, those motives will be examined more closely. In association with Mudbusters, Inc., Cold Stone Creamery, Weld Air Alaska, Lucas Chiropractic, and North Star Multimedia, VPA is presenting Agatha Christie's whodunit, Murder After Hours, from Oct. 25 through Nov. 17, at the Machetanz Theatre in Wasilla.

Friday and Saturday performances begin at 8 p.m. while Sunday matinee performances begin at 2 p.m. Thursday showings at 7 p.m., have been set aside during the run of the show as special student discount performances.

Under the direction of Larry Bottjen, Agatha Christie's Murder After Hours is a fascinating look at murder most foul through the many faceted prism of jealousy. Christie is the grande dame of murder mystery, having written such other heart-stopping thrillers as Witness for the Prosecution, Ten Little Indians, and The Mousetrap, still running strong after more than 50 years.

Sir Henry and Lady Lucy Angkatell (Phill Brentor and Judy Dossett) have invited over several guests, many of whom are relatives, to their country estate for the weekend. The mixture, however, is lethal. The combination turns into a deadly game of romantic follow-the-leader. Dr. John Cristow (Dennis Boyer) is beset by a bevy of women: Henrietta, his mistress (Rachel Underwood); Veronica, his movie star ex-mistress (Tami Shelton); and Gerda, his wife (Annie Nelson).

Also visiting are Edward (Colin Boyden), himself in love with Henrietta, and Midge (Suzanne Hermon), who is in love with Edward. Rounding out the household are servants Gudgeon (David Pelto) and Doris (Jennifer Martin). Into this melange comes Inspector Colquhoun (Thomas G. Jacobs) and Detective Sergeant Penny (Matthew Firmin).

Veronica desires to marry Cristow and succeeds in reopening their affair. But she is unable to get him to end his current marriage. Thus begins a series of events that leads to murder. But, who? And who did it? As always, Agatha Christie leaves us with clues, suspicious behavior, and enough red herrings to frustrate even the most ardent mystery fan.

Joining Bottjen in putting together the thriller are Laura Klein (stage manager), Constance Lutz (set designer), Greg Miller (chief carpenter), Steven Cuthbert (lighting designer), Pat Ayot (properties manager), and Lola Smith (costume designer).

Tickets for Murder After Hours, at $16.50 for adult and $14 for youth/seniors, are available at all CARRS TIX outlets or by calling 1-800-478-7328.

Student rush tickets, at half the adult price, $8.25, are available at the door 10 minutes before the curtain rises on a seat-available basis. Thursday student discount prices are $5. For more information, call Valley Performing Arts at 373-0195.