Rialto to present murder mystery

The Rialto Community Arts Center will present a murder-mystery dinner theater, Thirst for Blood, on Friday and Saturday in Morrilton. Dressed in costumes ready to attend the Halloween ball are, front row, from left, Heather Davis as Ingrid Bates, Sarah Croswell as Cleo Lane, Jackson Flowers as Winston Cupp, Christy Nichols as Penelope Parker and Halli Simpson as Grace Peabody; and back row, Nathan Mobley as Dr. Ludwig Von Herring, Jesse Burgener as Peter Parker, McKenzie Stell as Lucy Cabot, April Erickson as Helena Washington and Jeff Croswell as Mayor George Washington.
The Rialto Community Arts Center will present a murder-mystery dinner theater, Thirst for Blood, on Friday and Saturday in Morrilton. Dressed in costumes ready to attend the Halloween ball are, front row, from left, Heather Davis as Ingrid Bates, Sarah Croswell as Cleo Lane, Jackson Flowers as Winston Cupp, Christy Nichols as Penelope Parker and Halli Simpson as Grace Peabody; and back row, Nathan Mobley as Dr. Ludwig Von Herring, Jesse Burgener as Peter Parker, McKenzie Stell as Lucy Cabot, April Erickson as Helena Washington and Jeff Croswell as Mayor George Washington.

MORRILTON — It’s Halloween, and the residents of Devil’s Peak are gathered at the annual costume ball hosted by the mayor and his wife. Bates Manor has burned, and there’s a dispute over who will inherit the property. There’s also an uneasy feeling in the air as some think the old mansion is haunted. A murder will ensue, and guests at the ball will be asking, “whodunit?”

Such is the premise for the Rialto Community Arts Center’s upcoming murder-mystery dinner theater, Thirst for Blood, an interactive game produced by Haley Productions of Petaluma, California.

The whodunit dinner theater will be presented at 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday at the Rialto Community Arts Center, 213 E. Broadway in Morrilton. Those planning to attend are invited to dress in appropriate Halloween costumes. A prize will be given for “best dressed.”

Tickets for the event, which is suggested mainly for adults, are $25 each and include a three-course meal. The meal includes a salad, roast beef, scalloped potatoes, green beans and a dessert, provided by D&S Catering of Morrilton. Guests are asked to bring their own bottle of “spirits.”

Tickets may be purchased from Shawnna Bowles, Rialto office manager, at Morrilton City Hall or online at rialtoartscenter.com or by calling or texting (501) 288-9259.

“This is our third production of the murder-mystery dinner-theater series,” said Jeff Croswell, director of the upcoming production and treasurer of the Rialto Community Arts Center Board of Directors. “This year, we’re adding something a little different — we’re adding some puzzles and riddles that will help the audience to solve the crime. So patrons sitting together at the same table will have to work together to solve the riddles and, ultimately, the mystery.”

The majority of the cast members have appeared in previous murder-mystery dinners, but three are new to the Rialto. Making their first appearances at the Rialto are the following:

• McKenzie Stell of Springfield appears as Lucy Cabot, a newspaper reporter from the local paper, The Probe.

Stell is a 2010 graduate of Morrilton High School and a 2015 graduate of Arkansas State University with a degree in broadcast journalism, specializing in radio and TV.

“I’m having a lot of fun with this,” she said. “I’m obsessed with the Roaring Twenties. This is my third year to dress as a flapper for Halloween.”

• Halli Simpson of Vilonia portrays Grace Peabody, a

reclusive occultist who may or may not be a real witch.

Simpson is a 2001 graduate of Vilonia High School and has a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s degree in education from the University of Central Arkansas.

Although she is new to the Rialto, she is not new to the stage, as she appeared in productions presented by the Greene County Tech Fine Arts Council in Paragould and Jonesboro.

“I’m having a blast here at the Rialto,” she said. “I’ve met some awesome people.”

• Christy Nichols of Conway plays Penelope Parker, Peter’s ex-wife who is happy with the terms of their divorce.

Nichols attends the University of Arkansas Community College at Morrilton, where she is taking general-education courses.

“I want to do theater after college,” she said. “I am having an excellent time with this play; I love it.”

Veteran actors in the murder mystery series include the following:

• Jesse Burgener of Solgohachia appears as Peter Parker, the wealthiest man in town with a bad-boy rep.• April Erickson of Conway, a member of the Rialto’s board of directors, plays the character Helena Washington, the domineering wife of the mayor, George Washington.

• Jeff Croswell portrays George Washington, a very proud mayor who likes to think he resembles the famous president.

• Tyler Burgener of Solgohachia plays Lester Danvers, better known as “Simple

Lester” because he was the sole survivor of the fatal mansion fire.

• Heather Davis of Morrilton, a Rialto board member, appears as Ingrid Bates, the alleged long-lost aunt who may indeed be the sole heir to the Bates mansion.

• Nathan Mobley of Morrilton plays Dr. Ludwig Von Herring, a self-proclaimed investigator of the paranormal who fancies himself as a poor man’s Van Helsing.

• Jackson Flowers of Morrilton portrays Winston Cupp, the editor of the local paper, The Probe, who enjoys playing the piano in his spare time.

• Sarah Croswell of Morrilton, president of the Rialto Community Arts Center Board of Directors, appears as Cleo Lane, Grace’s apprentice, who seems to be permanently preoccupied with an imaginary friend.

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