Drama students put on dinner theater
A 69-year-old murder mystery is in the making in Harlem and members of a drama troupe are hoping it will help them as well as the old Columbia Theater.
Mark Hanna (from left), 17; Venessa Root, 18; Chris Rushing, 18; and Megan Fox, 17, all members of the Harlem High School student drama club practice a scene at B.G.'s Restaurant in Harlem. The group will perform in a sold-out murder mystery dinner theater production Thursday and Friday at the restaurant.
Photo by Quandra Collins
On Thursday and Friday, the Harlem High drama students will perform Power and Greed, by Anne and Robert Johnson, at 7 p.m. at BG's Deli and Fine Catering, 179 Louisville St. in Harlem. This past Wednesday, officials in Harlem City Hall said tickets for the event had already sold out.
"The owner of BG's thought it would be fun to do a murder mystery theater," Robin Root, Harlem's mayor pro tem and city councilwoman, said about the performance, which is sponsored by Harlem High School's Drama Boosters, The Harlem Foundation and B.G.'s. "The drama kids are really excited."
Originally based as a board game set in 1936, the performance will take center stage at the former Columbia Theatre, where an audience will witness a murder scene.
The remaining performance will resume at the restaurant and will give participants video clues to help solve the mystery, Root said.
"We'll also have some lounge singers," Root said.
By the end of the performance, Megan Fox, a character in the production, said the audience will have an opportunity to guess "whodunit."
"It's like a talking gossip," she said.
Proceeds from the production will go toward the drama department and Harlem's Theatre, which in the future will be used as a community arts center.
"The theater will be used for plays, performances, meeting places, drama, acting classes, etc.," Root said. "We just want to bring the arts to Harlem."