Catherine Heide and Conrad Rader, performers in the upcoming murder mystery dinner theater at the Hunter Ice Festival, rehearse at the Niles District Library Tuesday night. The show, put on by the Four Flags Players, is scheduled for Friday at 7 p.m. in the heated tent at the festival. (Daily Star Photo/AARON MUELLER)

By AARON MUELLER
Niles Daily Star

The excitement is building for the cast of the upcoming murder mystery theater, put on by the Four Flags Players, at the Hunter Ice Festival.

The performance, which takes place Friday at 7 p.m. in the tasting tent, is a unique experience for both the performers and the audience.

William Wreggelsworth, a senior at Niles High School, has been in two other performances with the Four Flags Players but has never been a part of something like this.

“Actually, it’s quite more intimate with the audience,” Wreggelsworth said. “We’re actually walking through. We mingle with the audience.”

It’s also unique in that the audience is provided with a meal during the performance. The buffet dinner includes a variety of foods from local restaurants and businesses.

Catherine Heide, who is the director and also an actress in the mystery, said the play is about a wine tasting event for a local, fictitious winery that invents a new wine. A series of events leads up to a murder, and it’s up to the audience to determine the culprit.

Tables will make their guesses, and the table that is correct will win a prize.

Dakota Word, who is a senior in high school and hopes to study drama at Western Michigan University next year, is the assistant director for the production.

“With a dinner theater, you are allowed to be a little more campy,” he said. “And it allows for more audience participation with a question and answer time.”

Friday is the only date the performance will take place, which is also different for the cast.
“Dinner theater is always fun and interesting, because it’s short run time,” said Conrad Rader, one of the actors in the play. “You spend a lot of rehearsal time building up to the crescendo of performance, unlike regular stage plays where you have sustained performance for a number of performances or weeks.”

There are only 100 tickets available for the show, which can be purchased for $25 in advance at the Niles Main St. office. Tickets also can be purchased at the door for $30 if there are any still available.

Hunter Ice Festival Murder Mystery Theater
When: Friday, 7-9 p.m.
Where: The tasting tent on the corner of Front and Main
Tickets: Available in advance for $25 at the Niles Main St. office and for $30 at the door; 100-ticket limit