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Murder mystery meets history

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Director Jay Fultz, right, discusses plot lines and character nuance with actor Brahm Corstanje in preparation for the Shaker murder mystery to be held Feb. 27 at the Warren County History Center in Lebanon.

Submitted photo Director Jay Fultz, right, discusses plot lines and character nuance with actor Brahm Corstanje in preparation for the Shaker murder mystery to be held Feb. 27 at the Warren County History Center in Lebanon.

Audience members will play a part in Lebanon Theatre production

By Eric Robinette, Staff Writer Updated 1:18 PM Monday, February 22, 2010

LEBANON — This year’s murder mystery by the Lebanon Theatre Company and the Warren County Historical Society shakes things up a little.

The interactive play called “Murder at the Museum,” will be staged Feb. 27 at the Warren County History Center. It focuses on the Shakers of Union Village (now Otterbein Lebanon Retirement Living Community), said Georgia Dunn, cast member and member of the Lebanon Theatre Company. The story takes place in the present day, as if the audience were attending a historical society lecture about the Shakers, when someone is murdered.

“They (the audience) will be part of the mystery, so nobody knows who’s part of the play, and who’s just there to have fun,” Dunn said.

Audience members also might find themselves pulled into the show, although Dunn preferred to keep a secret and not reveal how.

Dunn said audiences members also are invited to try to solve the mystery of the killer and his and/or her motive at the end.

The Lebanon Theatre Company and the Warren County Historical Society join forces to put on a murder mystery every other year. This year’s production is the fourth or fifth, Dunn said. The Historical Society prepares the food, the Lebanon Theatre Company handles the play.

The event originated about 10 years ago when the historical society approached the Lebanon Theatre Company about staging a murder mystery as an annual fundraiser. The proceeds are split equally between the two entities, and the show raises between $750 and $1,000 each time.

“We didn’t want to make it overkill for the audience, so we decided to do it every other year,” Dunn said.

Doors open at 6 p.m. for hors d’oeuvres and a cash bar. Guests should arrive no later than 6:15 p.m.

The event costs $45 per person, which includes the dinner and the play. Tickets can be purchased by calling the Warren County Historical Society at (513) 932-1817. Tickets must be purchased in advance.

The Shaker dinner menu includes pot roast with onion and sage beef gravy, smoked bacon and chive potato pancakes, glazed carrots, salad of mixed greens with onion and maple vinaigrette, sweet corn bread and butter, warm banana and pecan compote served over vanilla bean ice cream and banana bread.

The play “Murder at the Museum” was originally written for the Shaker Museum at Pleasant Hill, Ky., by Deborah Woodworth. Woodworth is the author of a series of Shaker murder mystery books.

Director and company member Jay Foltz adapted the Pleasant Hill version for the Warren County Historical Society.

Contact this reporter at (513) 705-2836 or erobinette@coxohio.com.