Purdy 'whodunit' provides meal, mystery and laugh
Purdy School’s murder mystery dinner cast is pictured above, from left to right in the front row: Lauren Lee as Cecilia Livingstone; Charlea Estes-Jones, as herself; Shana Whisman, as Blanche Marlowe; and Tatum Burt, as Gladys Pickering. Back row: Joshua Hughes, as Dr. Dewey Baldwin; Haylea Hughlett, as Harriet Ainsworth; Haylie Harris, as Pearl Nash; Payton Crumpler, as Minerva Farley; and Joy Grace, as Emerson Goldman.
March 6, 2019
Vinnie Roberts
On Thursday, February 28, the students and school officials of Purdy High School put on a murder mystery dinner to raise funds for their vocal music department’s trip to Carnegie Hall in New York City this summer.
The piece, entitled “Dewey and the Dastardly Damsels,” detailed the mysterious circumstances around the death of real-life former Purdy resident Dr. James “Dewey” Baldwin, who is claimed to haunt the school’s halls. The piece took the audience on a trip through the last days of (the fictitious) Dewey’s life and explained the motivations of the various suspects who may have had a hand in his demise.
The audience was treated to a spaghetti dinner before being plunged into a decades-old cold case involving a series of possible torrid affairs, a gossip-fueled church sewing circle and a cookie recipe that was good enough to die for.
Barry County Advertiser editor Charlea Estes-Jones led the evening’s murder mystery dinner-goers with the help of Purdy High student Shana Whisman. Estes-Jones, as a fictionalized version of herself, took attendees on a journey through the evidence she collected on the case. Whisman played Blanche Marlowe, a seemingly concerned citizen who lived in Purdy at the same time as Dewey, narrating her perspective of the events in letters to the editor of the Advertiser at the time, unearthed after decades of being hidden.
Students and school staff from Purdy High played Dewey (Coach Josh Hughes) and the various suspects on stage, in flashback sequences framed by Marlowe’s letters. These sequences set up compelling reasons for why each one of the characters may have had a role in the untimely demise of Dewey.
There were also pre-recorded video segments, starring Estes-Jones, of the intrepid editor following leads around town and interviewing real-life Purdy city officials and school staff to get to the bottom of the case.
After all of the evidence was submitted, each table of guests nominated a spokesperson to present who the table thought the real murderer was. The winning table was presented a trophy before all sleuths in the audience posed with the cast for photos.
Vinnie Roberts
On Thursday, February 28, the students and school officials of Purdy High School put on a murder mystery dinner to raise funds for their vocal music department’s trip to Carnegie Hall in New York City this summer.
The piece, entitled “Dewey and the Dastardly Damsels,” detailed the mysterious circumstances around the death of real-life former Purdy resident Dr. James “Dewey” Baldwin, who is claimed to haunt the school’s halls. The piece took the audience on a trip through the last days of (the fictitious) Dewey’s life and explained the motivations of the various suspects who may have had a hand in his demise.
The audience was treated to a spaghetti dinner before being plunged into a decades-old cold case involving a series of possible torrid affairs, a gossip-fueled church sewing circle and a cookie recipe that was good enough to die for.
Barry County Advertiser editor Charlea Estes-Jones led the evening’s murder mystery dinner-goers with the help of Purdy High student Shana Whisman. Estes-Jones, as a fictionalized version of herself, took attendees on a journey through the evidence she collected on the case. Whisman played Blanche Marlowe, a seemingly concerned citizen who lived in Purdy at the same time as Dewey, narrating her perspective of the events in letters to the editor of the Advertiser at the time, unearthed after decades of being hidden.
Students and school staff from Purdy High played Dewey (Coach Josh Hughes) and the various suspects on stage, in flashback sequences framed by Marlowe’s letters. These sequences set up compelling reasons for why each one of the characters may have had a role in the untimely demise of Dewey.
There were also pre-recorded video segments, starring Estes-Jones, of the intrepid editor following leads around town and interviewing real-life Purdy city officials and school staff to get to the bottom of the case.
After all of the evidence was submitted, each table of guests nominated a spokesperson to present who the table thought the real murderer was. The winning table was presented a trophy before all sleuths in the audience posed with the cast for photos.
