ELKINS – What goes on behind the scenes among a certain group of carnival performers turns out to be deadly. Solving the whodunit mystery presented by the Davis & Elkins College Alpha Psi Omega theatre honor society nets prizes and promises a fun and entertaining challenge.
“Casualty at the Carnival,” an interactive murder mystery experience, takes place from 4-10 p.m. Saturday, October 20 in Halliehurst mansion on the College campus. A new game round starts every 30 minutes. Tickets are adults, $5; children 12 and younger, $2; non-D&E students and D&E alumni, $3; Davis & Elkins students, faculty and staff, free. Reservations are not required.
The story unfolds as Mayor McDougal prepares to welcome the carnival to Autumn Valley for the very first time. He offers to host the zany crew of performers at his mansion for the run of the show. However, having a greedy ringmaster, a falling out of favor producer, a gossipy contortionist, an overly competitive daredevil, a snooty trapeze artist, a questionable clown, an egotistical lion tamer, a try-hard magician with his overzealous assistant, and the troublemaking mayor’s daughter all under one roof turns out to be not be such a good idea. At the opening party the night after their arrival to the mayor’s mansion, disaster strikes and one of the guests is found dead.
“The event is like a live action version of Clue where you try to solve the murder the fastest against other teams of people,” Alpha Psi Omega President Shannen McClure said. “There will also be multiple scenarios, so the murder is not the same every time.”
Each team made up of five members or less will have 30 minutes to solve the mystery by interviewing the suspect actors and picking up evidence hidden around Halliehurst. The first team to finish is the winner.
Cast members of “Casualty at the Carnival” are: Max Ginsberg of Fairfax, Virginia as Mayor McDougal; Rachel Huff of Mount Clare as Meredith McDougal; Shannen McClure of Marlinton as the Ringmaster; Sierra Petry of Charleston as the Trapeze Artist; Michaella Young of Elkins as the Human Cannonball; Trevor Gauckler of Charles Town as the Lion Tamer; Nathaniel Fornash of Huntington as the Contortionist; Josh Thompson of Parsons as the Clown; Tobias Sears of Crab Orchard as the Magician; Rachel Bennett of Elkins as the Magician’s Assistant and Director of the D&E Concert Choir Elizabeth Marshall-MacVean as the Producer.
