SEQUIM — This Halloween, Olympic Theatre Arts is trading “Night of the Living Dead” zombies for an Agatha Christie murder mystery.
“I think it’s a perfect thing for this time of year,” said Sharon DelaBarre, who plays amateur sleuth Miss Jane Marple in “A Murder is Announced.”
Organizers ran “Living Dead” for three Halloween seasons and changed it up this year with DelaBarre and a large ensemble set to perform “A Murder is Announced” on OTA’s main stage each weekend through Nov. 2.
For tickets, visit olympictheatrearts.org, or call the box office from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays at 360-683-7326.
Amber Tjemsland, who plays Mitzi the cook and acted in last year’s “Night of the Living Dead,” said she had a lot of fun with the zombie show and saw that Christie’s adaptation was set for Sequim’s stage and thought, “Oh, that’s perfect because I do think that a murder mystery in the fall is a perfect time.”
“I love watching Agatha Christie and Miss Marple (adaptations),” DelaBarre said.
“This was something that, when I saw it was happening, I had to audition for it.”
OTA’s adaptation of “A Murder is Announced” takes place in the village of Chipping Cleghorn, where an announcement in the local newspaper states a murder will occur at Little Paddocks manor house, owned by Letitia Blacklock (Janice Parks) at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 29.
A curious group attends with an unknown visitor (Riley Sakelarides) appearing to attempt to rob the group, followed by a blackout, shots fired and a suspicious death.
Marple is enlisted by Inspector Craddock (Susan Cates) because she doesn’t believe the death of the visitor to be a suicide as thought by her coworkers.
From here, there are more deaths revealed, mixed motives, concealed identities, fingers pointed, and Marple in the middle.
Tjemsland said any Miss Marple and Agatha Christie fan will want to see the show.
“I don’t know who wouldn’t be interested in seeing it,” she said.
She and DelaBarre said the show is appropriate for all ages.
“I’ve got my 8-year-old great-grandkid coming, and I think that he will really enjoy it,” she said.
With a large cast and many questions looming of whodunit, Tjemsland said they put little touches in to keep people guessing.
“I spend a lot of time on stage where I don’t have lines, and so it’s a lot of what’s in my body language, what’s in my facial expressions, and how am I reacting to what the other actors are saying that draws suspicion to my character,” she said.
DelaBarre said viewers are only given little bits of information at a time that tease and shift attention between characters.
“I think the inspector, the policeman and Marple are probably the only ones who aren’t suspects, and even Marple says that she’s being considered,” she said.
Timeless yet modern
Cast and crew say OTA’s “A Murder is Announced” production is not a typical adaptation.
“From the sets to the costumes, to even some of the characterizations, they’re a little off-center, which is fun,” DelaBarre said.
Tjemsland describes it as “twisted” and “uncomfortable.”
“(The audience) is going to come in and they’re going to see a set that is not what they expected in a Victorian mansion,” DelaBarre said.
The aesthetic is attributed to Christine Palka, assistant director and first-time OTA set designer, who described her bright version of Little Paddocks manor as “quasi-Wes Anderson” after the quirky filmmaker.
Palka said she was encouraged to modernize the timeless tale.
“I was juxtaposing bright and cheerful with death,” she said.
The stage remains the same throughout the show, Palka said, so they “went all out” with colors and design.
“I feel like a proud parent,” she said.
Until recently, Palka said she had been nervous about how it will turn out, but cast and crew have been supportive.
DelaBarre, who has been with OTA for 30-plus years, said the nonprofit has been experimenting more with its productions.
“If you don’t (step out of your comfort zones), you don’t find what audiences are out there that you’re missing,” she said.
Palka started acting with OTA during a production of “Arsenic and Old Lace” in 2022 after taking over a role despite initially signing up only to help build the set.
DelaBarre said seasoned and new cast and crew members are welcome to try new things.
“I’m in that boat,” Tjemsland said.
“This is only my third or fourth time on the stage, so I’m very new to all this, and I feel like I’ve been totally welcomed with open arms into the whole thing, and I’ve learned so much.”
She said Sequim has a big draw of talent and experience in theater, and those people want to share their knowledge with others.
“For a community theater to have that rich draw of talent here, I think it’s very cool,” Tjemsland said.
Other cast members include Joodie Klinke, August Maberry, Hayden Pomeroy, Kait Saffold, Karen Twight and Jessie Young.
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Matthew Nash is a reporter with the Olympic Peninsula News Group, which is composed of Sound Publishing newspapers Peninsula Daily News, Sequim Gazette and Forks Forum. He can be reached by email at matthew.nash@sequimgazette.com.
