College of Southern Maryland Theatre Company brings food and comedy together with its presentation of David McGillivray and Walter Zerlin Jr.’s “Farndale Avenue Housing Estate Townswomen’s Guild Dramatic Society Murder Mystery.” Presented at the Fine Arts Center on the La Plata Campus, Dessert Theatre takes place at 7 p.m., Sept. 19 and 26 and Dinner Theatre takes place at 6:30 p.m., Sept. 20, 21, 27 and 28.
CSM’s Technical Director Keith Hight said audiences can expect an evening of hilarious interaction, audience participation, miscues, missed lines and missing characters. “[Farndale is] funnier than ‘Flaming Idiots’ and more suspenseful than ‘Red Herring’,” he said in comparing this play to CSM’s past two dinner theatre productions. “Prepare yourself for a fun filled evening with some really talented people coming to start a guild society. You, too, can be a member.”
Every drama group has experienced the horrors of what can go wrong on opening night, and the ladies of the Farndale Avenue Housing Estate Townswomen’s Guild (F.A.H.E.T.G.) Dramatic Society are no different, with the possible exception that almost everything that could happen does. The scenery collapses, cues are missed, lines forgotten, and the sound effects take on a strange note at times as the ladies present their ambitious evening’s entertainment with the cunning whodunit, Murder At Checkmate Manor.
Casting includes Carol Charnock of La Plata as Mrs. Reece, Sherry Santana of Waldorf as Thelma, J.R. Cook of Lexington Park as Felicity, Alexis Miller of Gambrills as Lottie, Kaytlin Medley of Waldorf as Jasmine, Alex LaClair of La Plata as the Producer and Cory Bragg of Indian Head as the Picture.
The audience will be seated at tables on stage, close to cast and crew.
Dinner Theatre attendees will enjoy spaghetti and meatballs with tomato sauce, grilled chicken, garden salad, breadsticks, brownies, lemonade and coffee. Dessert Theatre audiences will be served assorted cookies, cheesecake and coffee. A maximum of 50 tickets will be sold for dinner performances, 35 for dessert performances.
Ticket prices are $25 for dinner theater or $20 for youth/seniors/military, $15 for dessert theatre. Reservations are encouraged due to limited seating. Contact the Box Office about advance purchase at bxoffc@csmd.edu, 301-934-7828, or www.csmd.edu/arts.
For season ticket or ensemble combination ticket information, visit www.csmd.edu/arts or call the Box Office at 301-934-7828. CSM’s Fine Arts Building is accessible to patrons with disabilities.
Audio description for the visually impaired and sign language interpretation for the hearing impaired are available with a minimum two week advance notice. If you are interested in these services please contact the Coordinator of ADA at 301-934-7614.
