ASC’s ‘Three Murders’ opens Oct. 27
“Three Murders and It’s Only Monday” is the latest theatrical production of the Arts & Science Center for Southeast Arkansas facilities, also known as the ARTx3 Campus.
The comedic play is scheduled for performances at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 27-28 and 2 p.m. Oct. 29 at ARTx3’s Adam B. Robinson Jr. Black Box Theater at ART WORKS on Main, 627 S. Main St. The production is sponsored by McFarland Eye Care, according to a news release.
The Oct. 27 performance is already sold out.
“It was the kind of night when you caught yourself holding your breath for no reason at all,” says private eye Harry Monday as he investigates three murders at the Peaceful Pines Sanitarium, according to a synopsis of the play.
Monday (played by 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 they 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, according to the synopsis.
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 night the murders took place? And how come no one can ever keep track of socialite Mary Tobias (Crystal Jennings)? Throw in a nosy gardener (Zuri Trammell), a disgruntled nurse (Erica Kriner) and an unexpected addition to the cast (Earnest Johnson) and the confusion multiplies, the synopsis reads.
The play comes complete with its own lightning as a storm blows out all the fuses … and the murders keep coming. In this spoof of old-style private-eye movies, the laughs are fast and furious.
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,” Carty said. “We had such a good response to it. People loved it and they really 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 bestdressed audience member.
“The characters in these productions get to play off the audience, and the audience becomes part of the show. It’s a fun atmosphere” and makes each performance slightly different from the last, he said.
“Three Murders and It’s Only Monday,” written by Pat Cook, was produced by special arrangement with The Dramatic Publishing Co. of Woodstock, Ill.
Tickets are $13 for ASC members and senior citizens, $18 for nonmembers and $10 for students. Tickets can be purchased at asc701.org/theater/threemurders-and-its-onlymonday or by calling (870) 536-3375.