STORY BY CORIE LYNN
PHOTOS BY LARAMIE MOYER
This Valentine’s weekend, the Hays Community Theatre is putting on performances of Murder Can Be Habit-Forming.
“It’s a murder mystery spoof. It’s a comedy, so to speak,” said Cheryl Glassman, “It takes place in a convent in upstate New York.”
According to Glassman, the director of the production, this mystery finds passengers of a stranded bus seeking shelter at the convent.
“Prior to their arrival,” she said, “the nuns in the convent are sitting around, listening to the radio and the announcer comes on saying that a young lady has been murdered at a restaurant that is close to where they live.”
The twist to this mystery is that the murderer only targets women named Mary.
“He’s called the Mary Murderer,” said Glassman.
Unfortunately for the characters, many of them, including the nuns and a couple of the bus passengers, are named Mary. This leaves them searching to solve the mystery before the Mary Murderer can claim his next victim.
Two showings will be held at the Hays Community Theatre, but the cast of Murder Can Be Habit-Forming will take the production on the road to perform in Great Bend the following week.
Glassman explained that, because of this, preparation for the play included creating a set that could be constructed, torn down, then reassembled at the Great Bend location.
However, traveling with a show is not typical of the HCT.
“Actually, they called us last year and it’s a kind of fundraiser for one of the churches there. They enjoyed our show last year,” said Glassman, “and they asked us to bring the show that we did this year to them as well.”
For the audiences in Hays, this is more than a play.
Included in the cost of each ticket is a meal provided by Hickock’s of Hays. The dinner on the first night of the production will be pork tenderloin while spaghetti will be served the second night.
Regardless of location, audiences can look forward to a show full of fun and, according to Adam Conkey who plays the character of Torch, great cast of characters.
“We have a pretty good ensemble […] so I think they’ll really enjoy how well it’s put together and how well we work together,” Conkey said.
In fact, Glassman cites the fun of the show and its characters as reasons for choosing to perform it.
“It makes people get away from the hard times of life, the mundane things of life,” she said, “and be able to enjoy a night out with a bunch of crazy people on a stage.”
Tickets are available for purchase at https://www.hctks.com/events. Hays performances of Murder Can Be Habit-Forming begin at 7:00 p.m. on February 15th and 16th, and are located at 121. E. 8th Street.