On Friday evening, March 31, nearly 90 people watched as multiple murders unfolded before their eyes at Arbor Gallery’s second-annual murder mystery fundraiser. Between mouthfuls of gourmet spaghetti, garlic bread, salad and wine the audience watched attentively or fell into gales of laughter at the ridiculous puns and one-liners of the highly talented cast. The volunteer actors, all residents of Vankleek Hill, performed their parts perfectly, as did detective Doc McCoy, aka Sandy Hatfield. Louise Stephenson’s facial expressions and body language as the hopeless, hapless romantic were a delight to watch, as was the totally over the top effusive demeanor of Blanche Lamour, famous romance writer played by Dana Johnston, and her naively hilarious secretary, Mimi Playfair, played by Alison Logee. Though initially the audience might have suspected that Blanche’s killer was the rough shod chainsaw killer, James Lang, played by Thaila Riden, in fact it turned out to be Brendan O’Reilly, the publisher of Heart Throb publications, played with understated polish by Hebb Russell. Undoubtedly though some of the funniest lines were those of Charles Robinson, the lawyer, played with unerring comic timing by Stuart Robertson. All in all, Murder on Ice kept people guessing and laughing right to the end.
The six chefs who each contributed a spaghetti sauce were: Renee Bergeron, Pat Deacon, Wendell Hyde, Katie McCall, Barbara Robertson and Trudy Samuel. The people who helped in the kitchen were: Caitlin Ross, Heather Meyer, Grace Clermont, Barbara Robertson, Eleanor Russell, Umaia Perlin, and Nicole St. Pierre who organized all of the set up and clean up on both Friday and Sunday afternoon. Andy Hamel from VKH Foodland donated garlic bread, Real Laurin of Your Independent Grocer donated gift certificates, Vert Fourchette provided sweets, and Hans from Trillium Farms provided delicious deer and wild boar meat.
