'Dark Rituals': A Halloween treat for grown-ups

Thursday, October 21, 2010
The Community Council on the Performing Arts will present "Dark Rituals," a thriller written by Thom Bennett and directed by Kathleen Day, with Allison Fast as stage manager, this week at the Fox Playhouse, 110 S. Main St. Performances will be at 8 p.m., Oct. 21-23, with a matinee at 2 p.m., Sunday. KNEM-KNMO Radio is the sponsor for this production. Pictured from left: Kenya Storm, Darcie Arnold, Richard Arnold, Jane Ann Hancock and Jeff Duey.

If you let your children participate in Halloween, then let them do so the last weekend of October. But this weekend it's time for the adults to take in a murder mystery thriller experience of their own when "Dark Rituals" is presented at the Fox Theater. The play, by Canadian Thom Bennett, is rightfully called a thriller. It's a spine-chilling story about Windigo, the monster flesh eater of the northern woods in Canada and other gruesome methods of murder. MCTV said the play is "an exciting and devilish cross between Deathtrap, Psycho, and Basic Instinct."

"Dark Rituals" is set in a remote cottage in Canada where a series of evil events causes the characters and the audience to confront our darkest fears. The story twists and turns with character quirks, deceptions, and human mortality. Death lurks at every turn with evil spirits, a heart attack, a blowgun, a scorpion, a gun, poison, and a shrunken head. With a cast of five characters, only two survive in this tangled web. And it's not the two you suspect will live. The four scenes in Act 1 provide the narrative and murder plot ; the three scenes in Act 2 provide all the action. Stay around for the quick-paced killings after the intermission.

The five characters in the cast include the world famous anthropologist Anne McCauly (Jane Ann Hancock), Anne's son Harrison (Richard Arnold), Harrison's wife Dorothy (Darcie Arnold), First Nations storyteller Vernon Rivers (Jeff Duey), and the physician Doctor David Murray (Kenya Storm). As the play unfolds the true nature of each character become clearer to the audience. Just when I thought I had figured it all out, I was surprised by a new twist in the story line. You will be, too.

Kathleen Day directs "Dark Rituals" aided by a talented technical crew who keeps the sinister events in the play in sharp focus with rapid lighting effects, timely sound effects and music that enhances the emotional fear of the actions. The set and costumes add to the remote nature of the cottage and the quick passage of time.

The Community Council on the Performing Arts presents "Dark Rituals" starting tonight, Oct. 21 at 8 p.m. and for two additional nights on Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. There's a Sunday matinee Oct. 24 at 2 p.m. for those of you who might be afraid to be out at night. Tickets are available at the box office for $6 each. The show is recommended for mature audiences. Leave the kids at home .....better yet, leave the kids at their grandparents' home. You won't want to miss any of this murder mystery thriller sponsored by KNEM-KNMO Radio.

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