Osage Community Players fall murder mystery is a hit

By Neal A. Johnson, UD Editor
Posted 10/28/21

“It’s another case of whodunit, with a catered dinner. The Nickie and Rickie Rivers Show is broadcasting from the road, but one of their featured guests is murdered.”

That was …

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Osage Community Players fall murder mystery is a hit

Posted

“It’s another case of whodunit, with a catered dinner. The Nickie and Rickie Rivers Show is broadcasting from the road, but one of their featured guests is murdered.”

That was the tagline for last weekend’s murder mystery comedy play, “Talk About a Murder!,” (formerly titled “Some Show about a Murder”), penned by Lee Mueller and performed by Osage Community Players (OCP) at the Osage County Community Center.

Directed by OCP, Inc. President Kristy Russell, the play saw a packed house on Friday and Saturday, with the meal catered by Annie’s Station in Loose Creek.

“This was only my second time directing, so I wasn’t 100 percent confident in my ability to pull it off,” said Russell, noting that 80 people were in attendance on Friday, while 71 were there on Saturday. 

Russell was joined by Assistant Director Jill Tschappler in presenting the play.

“The Nickie and Rickie Rivers Show is broadcasting their talk show on the road and it’s a bumpy ride,” a description of the play reads. “This show features D-list guests, including the Vegas Lounge singing team of Shecky Scagnetti (Mark Kloeppel) and Edie Buffet (Faith McKim), new age guru Celeste Ethereal (Karla Bridges), home economist Phoebe St Self (Anne Steele), and gossip columnist Polly Pettegolo (Jessica Steinman). Everyone is on the show to plug their own “shows” and what starts out to be a yawn fest “talk show” gets heated with a few ego and personality clashes. Sure, it sounds like every other talk show but, this particular show kills! Literally. One of the featured guests is murdered. Who would want someone dead while live on the air? Or is the question, who wouldn’t? Can this mystery help the ratings? Must the Show go on? Might as well, there’s nothing else on.”

Other cast members were Carrie Grellner (Rickie Rivers), Tracie Dwayne (Nickie Rivers), Brenny Montgomery (Stagehand Anne), Bella Russell (Candy Kafka, bodyguard of Phoebe St Self), Dave Christ (Police Officer Buzz Beckett), and Steve Maxwell (Announcer Don Godot).

Russell said she had hoped for the best but wasn’t sure what to expect. “In the end, I was pleasantly surprised by the overwhelmingly positive feedback,” she said. “The most a director can ask for is for the cast to make the audience feel something. I witnessed a lot of laughter from the audience both nights. That’s when I knew we had done something right. I was also pleased to have more new actors join us.”

Russell noted the audience was given an opportunity to ask any of the suspects questions before they voted, but only a couple of people took that opportunity. 

Cast members collected ballots after everyone voted for who they thought the killer was, and the murderer was revealed during the show after the votes had been cast. 

In the end, Buzz Beckett was identified as the killer.   

Russell said she appreciates the level of support across the board. “As a non-profit organization, we cannot continue to do what we do without the support of our community and the many volunteers who donate countless hours to help behind the scenes,” said Russell. “I can’t thank them enough.”