Theresa Noon-Hunter, artistic director and owner of There’s A Production, is preparing to bring her Downton Abbey themed musical murder mystery to the South Dumfries Historical Society on Saturday, March 23, 2024.
“Who Wants To Be An Abbey-Heir: A Downton Abbey Murder Mystery,” takes place in the early 20th century and follows along as both the upstairs and downstairs dwellers of the Downton Abbey estate deal with its impending sale and the murderous twist that comes with it.
The show follows an original script written by Rick Simm, with music and direction provided by Noon-Hunter.
“We have five actors in the play and each actor, with the exception of one, plays an upstairs character and a downstairs character,” said Noon-Hunter. “So, if anyone is familiar with Downton Abbey, they have the staff as well as the affluent family members, and so we all play somebody from the family and then one of the staff members as well.”
While audience interaction is encouraged in the show, it’s not mandatory. Guests do, however, get the opportunity to vote on who they think committed the crime at the end of the show and whoever guesses correctly, wins a prize.
“As always, if you want to just come to be entertained and be a wallflower, you can do that, or if you want, you can participate in the actual show,” said Noon-Hunter. “There’s always that element of audience interaction and we have our improv sections of the show, but the actors are trained to know who wants to be involved and who doesn’t.”
She also noted that while there is no dress code, audience members are more than welcome to come dressed up to fit the part if they so wish.
“It’s always encouraged, but it’s never mandatory,” she said. “So, if they want to pull out their top hats, canes and tailcoat, then they can, or if they want to come in jeans and a t-shirt then that’s perfect too!”
In addition to the murder mystery, audience members will also enjoy a three-course dinner throughout the show.
“As the audience comes in, they are brought into the first act of the show, which is set up so that all of the audience members are the prospective buyers of Downton Abbey,” said Noon-Hunter. “After the first act, we move into apps and entrees, and this time the audience gets a glass of wine included in their ticket purchase. After act two, we move into the dessert portion of the evening, and then we do act three to close out the night.”
Dinner for the evening will include roasted tomato penne alla vodka, roast chicken with insalata and house made focaccia bread, and for dessert, St. George apple crisp topped with a drizzle of Italian custard, as well as coffee and tea.
The one-day fundraiser show will be running in support of both the Adelaide Hunter Hoodless Homestead and the South Dumfries Historical Society, and a majority of the funds will be split between the two organizations.
Noon-Hunter said the partnership came about after she was connected with Nancy Carubba, Manager for the Adelaide Hunter Hoodless Homestead, through Brant Party Kit Rentals.
“They actually work very closely with Nancy and they had said, ‘we think you would make a great team together,” said Noon-Hunter. “So, they mentioned it to Nancy, and then she reached out to me and that was when we decided we were going to work together. When the South Dumfries Historical Society heard about it, they wanted to be part of it as well and so that’s kind of how we all got together.
The artistic director noted that she’s excited to once again bring the show back and is looking forward to an evening of fun.
“I really trust the people that come to play, implicitly,” she said. “The music is phenomenal because we’ve got songs from bands like The Beatles, Queen and Maroon Five, so it’s fun and recognizable to the audience members. Not only that but it’s so funny and quirky and it’s just really a good time, so I’m looking forward to bringing it back.”
For those interested in attending the show, tickets will be available for purchase on the There’s a Production website for $55 each. Doors will open at 6:00 p.m. and the show kicks off at 6:30 p.m..
