Months before COVID-19 arrived on the scene, the Huron Kiwanis Club began thinking outside the box for ways to increase membership in this service organization that benefits children.
“The reasoning behind it is the Huron Kiwanis Club, like a lot of other service groups in town was struggling to find membership,” said member Doug Pietz. “I brought up the idea of doing a play, something for the community to show we are members of the community, we give back to the community, and this play was an opportunity to do that.”
The Kiwanis Club operates the Pancake House for several events at the State Fairgrounds, and also works closely with the Huron High School Key Club, a branch of the Kiwanis.
The play, “Guilty Party: A Murderous Farce in 3 Acts,” will be presented at 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 3, in the Fine Arts Center. Directed by Mike Lyon, the play will feature the Beadle County Players — Diane Clayton, Bailey Harvey, SylvieJane Kallappa, Chuck Mahowald and Ranae Puterbaugh.
Tickets are available at the Fine Arts Center and the Huron Chamber. Full COVID protocols and socially distanced seating will be in place. Seating will be limited, with only 125 of the 245 seat theater to be filled.
“This was all pre-COVID,” said Lyon. “There were two plays I wanted to do, but I picked this one when COVID started happening and they still wanted to do the play. I wanted something very light and goofy.
“I wanted something where you could sit for two hours, laugh and forget what was happening in the world,” he said.
The scripts recently arrived from England, delayed because of the mail from overseas.
“That was a direct result of what was happening with the virus,” Lyon said. “Then, when it did start to get really serious, I kept on asking Doug, ‘Are we going to do this?’ He said We’re going to do this.”
The play, written by Scott Doss, takes place at a going away party for Phil Fein, the executive administrator at Cal-Amity Medical Emergency Center.
“You never see him on stage, he ends up getting killed in the first act,” Lyon said. “There’s five cast members, so there’s five suspects — and all five have very good reasons for wanting him dead. During intermission (before the third act) audience members will be handed a slip of paper to guess who the killer is. We take all the correct guesses and put them in a hat. After the play is over we draw a name and that person wins $50 Huron Bucks and other prizes as well.”
The suspects include the PR director of the hospital, Joe Blow, played by Chuck Mahowald, and the director of food service Sal Monella, played by Diane Clayton. SylvieJane Kallappa plays a nurses’ aid named Candy Striper, Bailey Harvey, a first-time performer with the group, plays a cardiac physician, Dr. Rose Thornbush. Renae Puterbaugh, also a first-timer, is a European aristocrat known only as Princess.
“It’s going to be a very simple stage, set at a hospitality room that we’ll decorate like it’s a going away party,” Lyon said. “We definitely had our little bumps in the road, just like putting on any play. Part of those bumps in the road are what’s going on with the virus.
“The uncertainty of it, we don’t know what to expect,” he said. “We know that our community is hungry for entertainment, hungry for live theater — we have a wonderful show and I know tickets are selling well.”
Lyon said he talked to other theater companies and found some have canceled and others have gone on with the show. “They do full protocol and social distancing,” he said. “Their attendance has been well.
“It’s been fun, but it’s also been challenging because of what’s been happening,” Lyon added. “It takes your mind off what is going on in the world. Life doesn’t stop. We’ve had our share of bumps in the road because of the virus. Our share of uncertainty.
“It is funny, it is very, very goofy,” he said. “Even though it’s about a murder, it’s family friendly.”
Snacks will be available during intermission following the second act, with refreshments available. All proceeds of ticket sales and refreshments will go to the Huron Kiwanis Club.
“There’s nothing like this going on at this time,” Lyon said. “The cast has been working hard, but we’re also dealing again with a scary situation — the uncertainty.
“We’re trying for two hours that night to take the troubles away, let people have a good time and put their worries behind.”
