Comedic Debut
Marble Falls High School actors Makayla Canuteson (left), Chito Hernandez, Michael Gebbert, Randy Spruiell, Colton Spurlock and Kylee Barnes react to a sudden threat from Austin Krause during rehearsals for ‘The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940.’
MARBLE FALLS — When it comes to staging a play, the students of Marble Falls High School’s theater department aren’t content to sit on the sidelines.
“These kids did everything,” theater director Martha Patino said. “They built sets, helped put together costumes — they did it all.”
About 20 students from the school’s theater and technical theater classes are staging “The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940.” The show debuts today at 7 p.m., with another show set for 7 p.m. Friday and a matinee 4 p.m. Saturday. Performances are at the Marble Falls High School Auditorium, 2101 Mustang Drive.
Patino said the show deftly blends laughs, suspense and a generous helping of 1940s nostalgia.
The play was first performed on Broadway in 1987, and the show’s subject matter is directly inspired by the Manhattan theater scene, with a number of actors and producers trapped in a New York mansion. As the group does their best to audition for a new script, a killer stalks them with hilarious results.
Patino said the cast and crew includes mostly juniors and seniors, adding the group is responsible for staging a play each fall.
“Then in spring, they’ll work on the (University Interscholastic League) one-act play, and we’ll have open auditions for that,” she said.
Tickets for the play are free, and Patino said no reservations are necessary.
“We are taking donations to raise money for a pair of trips later on this year,” she said. “They are the Texas State Thespian Convention and the Texas Education Theater Association’s Theaterfest.”
Both conventions focus on student workshops, presentations, design and scholarship auditions, she said.
For information, call (830) 798-3602.
chris@thepicayune.com
Photo by Chris Porter