Murder Mystery

By Alana Valdez

On Feb. 15, NHS (National Honor Society) hosted an interactive murder mystery night to raise money for a charity. They collaborated with the Drama Department who put together the play for the event.

“Our goal was to raise funds towards (our chosen) charity. This year, it’s United World School, which works towards providing education for children in impoverished areas by building schools, training teachers and improving hygiene,” explained NHS Club President Madalyn Phan.

NHS sold tickets and dinner items to enjoy while watching the show to help raise the money.

The play itself took place in a restaurant called Oriental Express and was about “the murder of a businessman named Semore Twit who was killed during a snowstorm that trapped himself and others in the restaurant he owned. Everyone who was trapped in this restaurant was suspected of murdering Mr. Twit because each person had a grudge against him,” shared director Mason Sandoval.

After watching the play, the audience had a chance to vote on who they thought the murderer was to win a prize. The people who guessed correctly won a gift card.

The audience felt the play was great and thoroughly enjoyed the whole event.

“The Drama Department did phenomenal, as always! The performers were very engaging and entertaining. I enjoyed the show a lot and know the audience did as well,” praised Madalyn.

The audience weren’t the only ones who enjoyed the show, as the Drama Department enjoyed putting it on as well.

“The play was pretty fun to put on and went beyond expectations. It really makes me happy to see that students who don’t always get their time in the spotlight got their chance with this event to show what they’re made of,” said Mason.

However, there were some problems that the cast ran into while putting together the show.

“Actors had trouble remembering their lines and didn’t put as much effort in as they should have. We had problems with our volume when reciting our lines so I was a little worried that during our show our audience would not be able to hear what we were saying,” expressed actor Joey Orzoff.

There were also some problems that NHS faced in terms of organizing the overall event.

“We were very stressed when the food had arrived late, so drama students had to rush to eat and we didn’t have plates to serve the food,” said Madalyn.

In the end, everything worked out and the event was a success.