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actress
Dame Natasia, and
attendees of Hays Arts Council's annual meeting and
event were asked to put their sleuthing skills to
the test.
About 100
people attended Friday's "Murder on the Disoriented
Express" dinner event at Fort Hays State
University's Robbins Alumni & Endowment Center,
featuring two actors with Upstage Productions, a St.
Louis-based entertainment company.
But
several in attendance also became impromptu actors
for the evening, playing the part of several
suspects in the actress' death. Among them was Hays
resident Gwyn Maximov, who runs a daycare center.
"I don't
act, except with my kids," she said with a laugh.
Her
audience Friday evening was quite different than
what she's used to, but that didn't stop Maximov
from delivering an enthusiastic performance as
actress Tallulah, Dame Natasia's biggest rival.
Hays
residents also had some help in solving the crime --
Sherlock Holmes, Charlie Chan, Lt. Columbo, and
Kelly, aka "the pretty one," from "Charlie's
Angels," also were called in to help.
But it was
Hays attorney Randy Clinkscales who eventually
cracked the case, even though it was his first time
to attend a mystery dinner.
"I stole
that from 'The Shining,'" he said of his sleuthing
methods.
It turned
out the killer was none other than Brenda Meder,
executive director of the HAC.
"I'm
sorry," Meder said, offering an excuse or two.
She was as
surprised as anybody, Meder said, to have been
tagged as the perpetrator of the fake crime. But
nonetheless, it proved to be an enjoyable evening,
she said, adding that such events could be held more
often if the public demanded it.
"It was a
wonderful evening," she said. "It met or exceeded
our expectations." |
