ASHTABULA — There will be a “murder” in the Ss. John and Paul cafeteria on Friday and Saturday. The high school will be presenting its first dinner theater in several years. The production is a murder mystery entitled “Café Murder,” written by Nathan Hartswick and directed by Charlotte Kline with a cast exclusively of women from the senior class.
Those participating in the play are Mikenzie Zullo as Rosemary, the main character who is allegedly allergic to water; Alyssa Lampela, Jenna Foglio, Amanda Reed and Halee McNeil as her sisters. Also starring are Clare Hamalainen as the maitre d’, Nicki Gallo as the French chef, Krissy Krumins as the waitress and Nicole Tolbert as the detective.
Zullo talked about how fun rehearsals for the play are. “It’s really a good time because she’s (the character) so unlike me. I have so much fun getting into character with the cast and working on building our characters,” she said.
Also, what is dinner theater without dinner?
Ticket holders will first enjoy appetizers. Next, guests will enjoy stuffed chicken breast with a baked potato and green beans and dessert. When dinner is finished, audience members will have the opportunity to question the suspects and vote for whom they think is the murderer.
“We chose this play because it was a play that called for a small cast and we had a large number of senior women who wanted to put on a dinner theater production,” said Drama Club adviser Marilou McClimans. “It’s unique because a lot of them have never been on-stage for Ss. John and Paul before.”
On Nov. 2 the high school and elementary school celebrated “The Day of the Dead.” This is a huge day of celebration in Mexico where families gather together in their homes and at cemeteries to remember those who have passed away. The Spanish four and five classes prepared a presentation to teach students in grades one to six about the traditions and customs of this Mexican holiday.
“I think it is important to understand other cultures and their customs, then relate them to ourselves,” said high school Spanish teacher Erin Adame. “Also, Day of the Dead is an interesting and beautiful tradition that is very much a part of Mexican culture.”
Each class contributed to the presentation by creating some aspect of the traditions of the holiday. One Spanish class created shadowboxes and decorated altars, and another created papel picado and tombstones, while the Spanish four and five classes made paper mache masks and prepared a PowerPoint to help the younger students at the elementary building to better understand what was being taught. Then on Nov. 2, Mrs. Adame and her Spanish four and five classes went down to the elementary building and spent the school day teaching the kids all about the Day of the Dead.
The presentation included a 10-minute PowerPoint that explained what they were celebrating and why they were celebrating it. Following the PowerPoint students participated in a hands-on activity. The students in grades one to three colored in paper masks while the students in grades four to six cut tissue paper to make papel picado. An altar celebrating Frida Kahlo was set up as well.
“I thought it was interesting and fun learning Spanish words. I learned that kids and adults celebrate Day of the Dead on different days and I thought it was cool to see all the stuff, like the candy skulls,” said Mattie Spence, a fifth grader at the elementary building. “My favorite part was making the papel picado.”
Ss. John and Paul is at its best when we are working with others, and the “Day of the Dead” and “Café Murder” are great examples of that fact. We hope to be able to continue to do activities like these in the future.
Next Generation
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Drama Club to present 'Cafe Murder' mystery
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