SACS presents ‘A Family Reunion,’ the best or the worst of times

By Brooke Lilley
SACS student
    Is a freezer really the best place to store the bodies of your dead relatives? At Southern Aroostook Community School, it seemed like the only good answer.
    In the production “A Family Reunion to Die For,” written by Mike Steele and Matt Steele and published by Pioneer Drama Service, Inc., family members gather at a Western-themed bed and breakfast for a family reunion and suddenly random guests are murdered. The first to go is the owner of the bed and breakfast, Aunt Gretchen Wilcox, played by Mariah Lane. She treats the guests nicely, but is constantly yelling at Connie and Beatrice, the maid and cook.
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CAST — Southern Aroostook Community School recently held its school play. Cast members include, front row from left,Vanessa Charette, Johnathan Hardy and Brooke Lilley; second row, Ashley Crandall, Taylor D. Bishop, Kristen Tarr and Jacinta Hinkley; third row, Desirae Dubois, Jenica Frazier, Taylor Desmond and David Ireland; fourth row, Ramirez Robinson; and fifth row, Shelby Cummings, Shanna Porter, Ayanna Morales, Kaylan McNally and Mariah Lane.
    Beatrice, played by Shelby Cummings, claims that she didn’t always have a unibrow and mole but acquired them after working for Mrs. Wilcox for years. Connie, played by Jacinta Hinckley, realizes at the end of the play that the serving life is not for her and, surprisingly, returns to the field of neuroscience.
    The next victim to be murdered was Racelle Shanklin, played by Brooke Lilley, an anthropologist and a niece of Gretchen. She is shot from a secret passageway and leaves behind her husband, Robert Shanklin, aka Jonathan Hardy, a sixth-grader.
    Stefan Livingston, an actor and cousin of Rachel, impersonated by Ramirez Robinson, is the final victim, electrified in the bathtub with a missing laptop. His wife Suzanne Livingston (Kaylan McNally) reveals to the rest of the family that they were no longer a couple and only stayed together to continue their career as an acting duo. There is no shortage of suspects.
    Some other guests in attendance at the bed and breakfast included a rude and sarcastic hotel critic, Jean March. Vanessa Charette, a senior who has not been involved with the drama program before, portrays the critic with ease, and ends up giving an excellent review of the bed and breakfast.
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IN ACTION — Performing in the school play are, from left, Taylor Desmond, David Ireland, Kristen Tarr and Kaylan McNally
    The Michael sisters, Carla Jo and Rhonda Mae, and Lola Matthews, stay at the bed and breakfast every year but never get along. Carla Jo and Rhonda Mae, better known as students Ashley Crandall and Jenica Frazier, love to hunt but discover that their rifle has been stolen from the case.
    Lola, a former Las Vegas showgirl but currently the world’s fastest knitting champion, portrayed by Kristen Tarr, dresses up the stage wearing different flapper dresses and a cat costume at the end, adding to the character’s personality. She falls deeply in love with the Costumed Guest who also ends up being the hero of the story, played by Desirae Dubois.
    This character  portrays different comic book characters, including the Knight Crusader, Yak Man, and Princess Gracie Gumdrop.
    A small mime troupe visits the area including mimes Minnie and Molly, personified by Shanna Porter and Ayanna Morales, who are managed by Nellie Camp, played by Taylor Bishop.
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RAISE YOUR HAND — David Ireland, left, and Ayanna Morales  act out a scene.
    The detective, Freddie Franklin, or David Ireland, soon figures out who the murderer is based on the clues that he has collected with the help of his wife, Christiana Franklin, played by Taylor Desmond.
    Freddie reveals at a meeting that the murderer is Molly, who wants revenge on the family for leaving her out and never getting to know her. She threatens to kill everybody in the room but is soon defeated by Princess Gracie Gumdrop who throws her fake gun at Molly’s hand, causing her to drop the real gun. Christine then punches Molly and as a result she falls to the ground and blacks out. The day has been saved by the Princess and everybody is quite surprised.
    Being preserved in the freezer has its advantages as the deceased victims discover. Each time the three return to the stage as ghosts to speak with the audience and figure out what the family is doing, they have found something new to eat from the kitchen. At the end of the play, Beatrice finds that the bodies are missing and they realize that they had better return to the freezer.
    The production was a great success and the Southern Aroostook theater students would like to thank everybody that attended and helped out.
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COUCH CHAT — Performing are, from left, Vanessa Charette, Kaylan McNally, Jenica Frazier and Ashley Crandall