Winery murder mystery comes to Mount Tabor Playhouse

When a winery co-owner goes missing just before the party to celebrate the winery’s award-winning sparkling wine, and is then found dead in the cellar, the list of suspects grows with each revelation of his duplicitous dealings. That’s the premise behind Katherine Albers’ comedic Wining and Dying, now being staged by Prince Edward Community Theatre at the Mount Tabor Playhouse in Milford. Director Deb Smith received the playwright’s permission to change all location references so that the play is set in a (fictitious) County winery, and even goes so far as to name-check a few local characters to provide a bit of authenticity—and a laugh or two. Ms. Smith has been involved in County theatre since she retired here about five years ago, and was looking to stage another comedy after the success of Clue: Onstage last year. One of the board members drew her attention to Wining and Dying, and Ms. Smith embraced the opportunity to stage this murder mystery with more twists that a 50-year-old grapevine.

The play centres around Diamond Vineyard, which has just won a coveted trophy for its Crackling Rosie sparkling wine. Vineyard co-owner Aimee is passionate about wine, and has inherited the vineyard from her deceased parents, who emigrated from France. Aimee’s older and irresponsible sister Desiree is newly single and has arrived from France for the celebration party, as has Antoine, a purported wine critic from Le Monde. Six other characters make their appearance before a body is discovered in the cellar and Detective Jules Christie arrives to investigate. As the play evolves, the list of suspects with motive and opportunity becomes longer, with nine of the characters saying “I could have killed him!” The final 10 minutes of the play reveals who held “the smoking gun”, and the bodies begin to pile up, leaving the audience with the question “Will they get away with murder?”

It’s an ensemble cast of 11, and there’s a mix of veteran community theatre actors and relative newcomers. Ms. Smith said it was a challenge to fit all of the actors on the small Mount Tabor stage. “It’s an exercise in careful choreography, and the cast have been great about having their big moments for their scenes and then fading to the edges to be almost part of the scenery,” she said. One of the returning actors to the stage is Tomas Crossley, who was also in Clue and The Legend of Georgia McBride. He plays the part of Antoine, the somewhat suspicious wine critic. He said he enjoys community theatre as it’s a total departure from his everyday work. “Every day I have a lot of pressure on me. I’m a business owner and I have employees of my own. This is just a way that I can open up and feel free,” he said. He uses what he calls the “Rick Dalton method” of learning his lines. He makes an audio recording of the entire play, voicing all of the other characters, and then inserts his own lines while listening to it. He drew the inspiration for his character from a past acquaintance. “I used to work with a chef who was born and raised in Paris, and his accent has stuck with me through the years,” he said.

Kim Kennedy plays the central character of Aimee, whom the play revolves around. She starts off being a little flustered by the absence of her husband, but then settles down to the task at hand, and over the course of the play the audience gets to see the steel in her character. Ms. Kennedy has been involved in community theatre since 2017, when she was persuaded to take part by co-cast member Susie Mitchell. She and Ms. Mitchell had last appeared on stage when they were Grade Eight students at Pinecrest Elementary School. Ms. Kennedy’s first foray was as stage manager for Vanya, Sonia, Masha and Spike, and then she appeared onstage in 2019 in Making God Laugh. Since then she has been a regular contributor to Prince Edward Community Theatre, both on stage and in production roles. She said that her character is this play is described as “the responsible one” and she used the Julia Ogden character from Murdoch Mysteries as her template. “For my character, the winery is part of her life. It’s who she is and it’s her passion,” she said. Ms. Kennedy said that she loves being part of community theatre and has developed many friendships over the years. She said that it was a bit of a struggle this time to recruit members for this play, and would like to encourage County residents to give community theatre a try. “We’re very supportive of each other. It’s all about making sure people have fun,” she said.

From The Wellington Times

It’s a familiar scene: the wine barrel bar, French doors leading to rolling pastures, racks of bottles full of ruby-hued liquid, and a dead body in the cellar.

Wining and Dying, directed by Deb Smith for Prince Edward Community Theatre, takes the whodunnit formula from a stately manor to a winery in Prince Edward County.

Everyone at Diamond Estates is preparing to celebrate winning the prestigious Tres Haute Prix for their Cracklin’ Rosie, a sparkling marquette of a vintage not nearly as old as its soft rock name.

Everyone, that is, except Chuck Diamond. He is married to Amy, the daughter of Bordeaux transplants to the County. While Amy (Kim Kennedy) has steered the winery to success, Chuck has threatened it at every turn by embezzling, gallivanting, meddling, and filandering. That he would show up late to the party seems routine — until he turns up dead.

The question isn’t who killed Chuck, but rather who wouldn’t kill Chuck? Of the nine present, everyone seems to have a motive — and a nine millimeter pistol.

Detective Jules Christie (Tom Higginbottom) asks everyone to stay put while each is pulled into a room for interrogation.

Wining and Dying is a murder mystery where every plot development comes with a wink at the audience. It is in the tradition of whodunnit comedies–Knives Out, Clue, Gosford Park—that send-up the conventions of the genre with great appreciation.

The play takes the sub-genre a step-further, at times laughing at its own jokes: the caterer Damon Chandler (Adam McGowan) serves up a “red herring” with a wry smile.

Fans of the genre will have fun parsing the play’s many references, from the dialogue to the score. Each character is surnamed after a famous mystery author, Daphne DuMaurier, Raymond Chandler, and Arthur Conan Doyle feature, to name a few. Meanwhile, dramatic beats are punctuated with familiar scores ranging from Pink Panther to Psycho.

The play was written by Canadian playwright Katherine Albers and it was originally set in Niagara on the Lake. It’s fitting that this remount is in the other Ontario wine region.

One of the central tensions, perhaps strong enough to murder over, is between old world and new world wines. When a disgruntled would-be critic shows up from Paris to lambast Diamond Estates for getting the award, Amy must defend her French-born parents’ choice of the young vines of the County.

It proves to be an even more delicate subject when a jealous neighbour covets Amy’s fertile soil; just a few metres away, his own vines, languishing in clay, threaten to bankrupt him.

The stakes are prescient: the County reports a quarter of its wineries are for sale, and some abandoned vines are deteriorating with overgrowth.

There’s also much to be made of the winning vintage as a “sparkling marquette.”

Marquette is a North American hybrid grape that was created at the University of Minnesota in 2006. It’s a cold hardy grape that does well in Prince Edward County’s climate, where some European grapes may wither and die. According to producer Bill Sedgwick, there is no sparkling variety.

As the suspects await their turn in the interrogation room, they glug back glass upon glass until the truth is revealed in a shocking twist. While Wining and Dying brings many laughs, it ends on a dry note.

From The Picton Gazette

Heartwarming story of an Elvis impersonator dragged into a new career

Prince Edward Community Theatre is staging the play The Legend of Georgia McBride by Matthew López at Mount Tabor Playhouse in Milford with six performances over the next two weeks. Director Cheryl Singer came across this play two years ago and knew that she had to stage it. “I fell in love with it right away. It is something a little different, with comedy, music and drag queens. I could see all of the colours and the cast, and I could see the story,” she said. Before going ahead, she needed to ensure that she could find actors willing to perform in drag. “We have three men that get into drag, and that’s not the type of role that everyone wants to do, so I thought I’s better make sure we had enough people who were interested. I approached Pat Larkin and he read the script and he said ‘I’m in!’ Andy [Francis] also read the script and they identified with one of the characters and they said they’d love to be in the production in the role of Rexy. That was enough to sell me, and I brought the play to the theatre board, and here we are two years later,” said Ms. Singer.

The play follows the life of a young Elvis impersonator, Casey, played by Tomas Crossley, after he’s fired from his gig at a seedy club in the Florida Panhandle. He’s offered work as a bartender in the same club after it replaces his act with a drag show. Chronically broke and behind on the rent, and with his wife Jo, played by Tess Singer, newly pregnant, he sees no other option but to take the job. There’s a significant turn of events when one of the drag queens, Rexy, played by Andy Francis, has an unfortunate accident. Drag queen Miss Tracy Mills, played with campy enthusiasm by Pat Larkin, dragoons Casey onstage as the initially inept Miss Georgia McBride who is thrust into the spotlight to perform an Edith Piaf number. In a skillfully executed scene, Casey is transformed from a reluctant queen to a confident impersonator in the space of a couple of minutes. His life and fortunes change, but he is unable to tell Jo what is really going on.

Andy Francis was eager to take on the role of Rexy, who they said plays a keystone role. “I’ve always wanted to perform in drag, to explore that part, and I’m enjoying the experience. Rexy comes off as a little harsh in some ways, but there’s a reason for that—she’s lived a hard life and she’s still working to push herself forward,” they said. In addition to playing the vodka-fuelled Roxy, Mx. Francis also plays Jason, a beer-swilling good ole boy who is also Casey’s landlord. “He’s hyper-masculine and the opposite to Rexy, but there’s an unexpected depth to his character,” said Mx. Francis. They have been involved in community theatre for a number of years, appearing in Two in the Aisle, Three in the Van and providing tech support for Red Velvet Cake Wars and Steel Magnolias. “Community theatre is a way to keep myself occupied, but there’s also the community part of it. It’s nice to see people in theatre and in storytelling generally. The rehearsals are really fun, and it’s great to explore the characters, especially after we started doing the dress rehearsals,” they said.

Tess Singer plays to role of Jo, and says that her role in the play is one of being a steady presence, encapsulating the “heart” of the show, as a balance to the comedy. She said that it took her some time to figure out her character. “I analyzed Casey’s character and looked at the interaction between Jo and Casey and brought out the emotion behind that,” she said. “This play is a little more progressive and sends a pretty clear message. It has a lot of comedic value and it’s representative of a very diverse group of people. I hope that when the audience sees it they will feel that they are touched by it.”

Director Cheryl Singer said that her task in directing the play was to make sure that everyone feels invested in the project. “I want people to understand who their characters are and how they relate to other characters in the show. If you have a part in the play, you are a pivotal part of the entire story,” she said. She looks back upon her experience as an actor to inform her role as director. “I found that I always needed advice from the director on what I should be doing, because they can see the whole picture. I write notes about everything and I’m helped by stage manager Kim Kennedy and assistant stage manager Sherri Girvan. I had two years to dive into this play, and find the depth in it. It’s not just about drag. Drag plays a pivotal role in the overall theme of it, which is about finding your authentic self,” she said. “If you love music, if you love a good love story, if you love Elvis Presley, if you love great music, if you want to come to a show and be able to get out of your seat and dance, then come to see this play. Come and feel joy, absolute unadulterated joy. We have it all.” The play will be performed on June 14, 18, 20 and 21 at 7:30 p.m., with matinee performances on June 15 and June 22 at 2 p.m. For more information and tickets, please visit pecommtheatre.ca

From The Wellington Times