By Pat Cook
Directed by Terrie Vasilopoulos
Cast (in order of appearance)
Clarise Hockstedder….……….……Elena Jimenez
Mickey Hockstedder……….………..…Bill Hohnke
Lionel Jeffreys………………………Brian Goodman
Lucille Leander…………..……Corinna Christman
Margo Lynn Montgomery…..………Gerri Hudson
Snooky MacMurray……..……..…………Nora Davis
Barbara Simmons……..…Sasha Austin-Schmidt
Lieutenant Barnes……………………Mark Johnson
Setting
Time: early evening of October 1st, 1988
Place: The Hockstedders’ living room
Production Staff
Assistant Director……………..……Ashley Mister
Stage Manager……………………….Bobbie Lyons
Assistant Stage Manager………..…Wynn Meyer
Set Design…………….………………Mark Johnson
Costume Design………..…Mary Beth McCarthy
Props Wizard…………………………….Rachel Baker
House Manager………………………Yvonne Webb
Lighting…………….…….…………Elizabeth Horne
Publicity Guru…………………………Susan Harris
Producer…………………..………………Paul Baker
There will be one twenty-minute intermission, during which Backstory Café will be open. Murder, You Must Be Kidding! is produced by special arrangement with Baker’s Plays.
Director’s Notes
There is always a lot of pressure being a director of a show. But since this is the first full-length production of the Hyde Park Community Players, the pressure and the stress were turned up a notch…or five.
For this production, we opted for a play from the offbeat genre of comic whodunit. Because that’s just what murder needs–more comedy! I’ve always loved this genre. My fondest childhood memories are of watching the movie Clue with my sister; at one point, we could quote every line! There was something about the mystery and suspense, and I always loved how comedy could be used to address such a serious topic as murder. Yes, comedy can be farcical and full of slapstick, but it can also be subtle, witty, revealing, biting, and sarcastic. Even a light comedy such as Murder, You Must Be Kidding! can be as adept as drama in presenting captivating plots and in-depth character studies. I was drawn to Pat Cook’s Murder, You Must Be Kidding! because it focuses on characters in a community theater–characters I am obviously very familiar with! Even though Cook presents stereotypical characters (such as the controlling director or the past-her-prime diva) he never crosses the line into farce. These are not just characters, these are people that we know, and that makes us more intrigued to find out how one of them can be driven to murder.
Words cannot express my gratitude to the cast and production staff. They put in countless hours of hard work and dedication to this the wonderful show that it is. I must give a very special thanks to Ashley, Bobbie and Wynn. How could this have happened without you? As a director, you always have a “vision” that you want to communicate to and through your cast. But this cast took my vision, ran with it and made it their own. What we present to you today, therefore, is far more than just a realization of my vision; it is an amazing journey that I could have never realized without this remarkable group of people, and wouldn’t want to. For that, I am ever thankful. Finally, on behalf of the cast and crew, I thank you, our wonderful patrons, for coming along for the ride with us. Enjoy the show!
Terrie Vasilopoulos
The Play: (from patcook.org) The Harlequin Little Theater is rehearsing for their latest production. “We used to be called ‘The Arts And Farces’”, Margo explains, “but everybody kept mispronouncing it.” Tonight’s rehearsal is in the Hockstedder’s home and when the lead in the show, their next door neighbor, is found murdered, everyone in the show becomes a suspect. But Mickey, the director, says the show must go on and continues to rehearse their show, even with the police investigation under foot. What is part of their production and what is really happening?
The Playwright: (from patcook.org) Pat Cook got his first taste of seeing his work in print when he was still in high school in Frankston, Texas, writing for the school paper. Then, during the summers, he wrote a column for his hometown newspaper. It wasn’t until college, however, when he saw the movie version of Neil Simon’s The Odd Couple that he decided to try his hand at writing plays. His first one-act, The Boys In The Halls, was produced at Lon Morris Junior College in 1968 and has since vanished in some forgotten trash can. After moving to Houston in 1970, he soon found other writing assignments at AstroWorld, educational radio, night clubs and local television. His first play to be published was Rest in Peace, released in 1976 by Dramatic Publishing in Woodstock, Illinois. Still, writing was only a sideline along with several other odd jobs, which included playing piano in pizza parlors, acting in local commercials, industrial films and on stage, building scenery and selling pianos and organs. However, more plays got published and along the way, his wife, Rose Ann, taught him the joys of using a computer. This coupled with his conviction to drop everything else and write full time, proved to be a turning point in his life. As of this writing, he has one hundred twenty-five plays published by nine publishers. Several of these have been translated into Dutch and German.
Special Thanks: In addition to the cast and crew, I would like to give thanks to others who have helped out in making this production possible: Nathaniel Christman, John Roberts, Adam Rosenthal, Elston Ace Hardware, Steppenwolf Theater Company, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Court Theatre, University Theater and the Experimental Station.