Mystery-Comedy "Three Murders" Brings Laughs, Thrills to Black Box Theater
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Jonathan R. Hoover plays private eye Harry Monday in ARTx3’s upcoming production of “Three Murders and It’s Only Monday” Oct. 27-29, 2023, at ART WORKS on Main in Pine Bluff.
Theater-Goers encouraged to dress in Costume for Prizes
“It was the kind of night when you caught yourself holding your breath for no reason at all.” So says private eye Harry Monday as he investigates three murders at the Peaceful Pines Sanitarium.
Three Murders and It’s Only Monday is the next theatrical production at the ARTx3 Campus. The lightning-paced comedy is slated for performances at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Oct. 27-28, and 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 29, 2023, at ARTx3’s Adam B. Robinson Jr. Black Box Theater at ART WORKS on Main, 627 S. Main St. in Pine Bluff. The Friday performance is already sold out.
The production is sponsored by McFarland Eye Care.
Monday (Jonathan R. Hoover) is on his third murder investigation of the night at the hospital. Even the police are getting tired of coming out, and ask Dr. Morrisey (Raymond Wallace) if he could just phone in the details. When Tara (Susan Harris), a sultry soon-to-be-heiress, shows up, Harry puts his best foot forward … right in his mouth. “Odd how relatives always head up a suspect list,” he notes as the deceased’s families arrive. Odder still when he finds out they all belong to the same family!
Harry finds it tough when he tries to determine who killed an old sea captain (Martin Carty), a ventriloquist (Will Witt), and a hobo. What did these three have in common? And why would lawyer Lilly Dramkean (Tracy Sutherland) get involved in shady legalities? Why does Larramore (J. Tyler Lewis) take a night off on the date when the murders took place? And how come no one can ever keep track of socialite Mary Tobias (Crystal Jennings)? Throw in a nosey gardener (Zuri Trammell), a disgruntled nurse (Erica Kriner), and an unexpected addition to the cast (Earnest Johnson) and the confusion multiplies.
This mystery comes complete with its own lightning as a storm blows out all the fuses … and the murders keep coming! In this spoof on the old-style private-eye movies, the laughs are fast and furious… and the ending will simply kill you!
The show is directed by Martin Carty and co-directed by Lindsey Collins. Partial to mysteries, Carty directed ASC’s last two Halloween productions: Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express in 2022 and You Have the Right to Remain Dead in 2021.
“We did our first Halloween-themed show in the black box theater back in 2021,” says Carty. “We had such a good response to it. People loved it and really they got into it. The fun thing was, no one guessed who the murderer was! These shows are a lot of fun to do.”
Audience members are encouraged to dress in costume for the performances; prizes will be awarded to each performance’s best-dressed audience member.
According to Carty, the audience becomes a part of the show, making each performance slightly different from the last. “The characters in these productions get to play off the audience, and the audience becomes part of the show. It’s a fun atmosphere.”
Three Murders and It’s Only Monday, written by Pat Cook, was produced by special arrangement with The Dramatic Publishing Company of Woodstock, Illinois.
Tickets are $13 for ASC members and seniors; $18 for nonmembers; and $10 for students. Tickets may be purchased here or by calling 870-536-3375. Remaining tickets may be purchased at the theater right before the show; doors open 45 minutes before each performance.
For more information, contact Collins at lcollins@asc701.org or 870-536-3375.
