Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy (HBHA) will present “This Murder Was Staged,” a murder mystery comedy, at the The Lewis and Shirley White Theatre at The J (5801 W. 115th St., Overland Park, KS 66211).
Performances will be at 7 p.m. on the evenings of Tuesday, May 6, and Wednesday, May 7.
“This Murder Was Staged” begins with a group of actors performing a murder mystery show, but things take a surprising turn when the character killed in their performance is revealed to be none other than their show’s egotistical director, Sinclair Hemmings — and he is actually dead. Mayhem ensues as a detective strides on stage to interrogate the cast and crew in an effort to find the killer. The detective must determine if the murderer is the stammering playwright; the wealthy, elderly theater donor; the weary stage manager; the scolding theater critic; or perhaps even a seemingly innocent audience member.
Director Micah Margolies is excited for an audience to see the show that his cast has been preparing for the past few months.
“It’s a hilarious play from beginning to end,” Margolies said, “and it really gets to showcase our actors’ incredible comedic skills. Plus, it’ll keep the audience guessing about who the real killer is all the way up to its surprising conclusion.”
Sophomore Eric Fine is performing in his second HBHA upper school play, following his performance in last year’s “A Monster Calls.”
“I get to play a somewhat deranged custodian,” Fine said. “Who knows — maybe I killed Sinclair Hemmings. Guess you’ll have to see it to find out.”
The cast of the play is composed of HBHA high school students Elia Ellis, Eric Fine, Shai Friedman, Simon Granoff, Ethan Hobbs, Saphire Hobbs, Sofia Levine, Alex Rich, Eliezer Rich, Naftali Tilove, Jei Valdivia and David Wasserman. It is stage managed by Noa Levine and directed by Micah Margolies.
Tickets can be purchased in advance or purchased at the door. To reserve tickets in advance, those interested can email Micah Margolies at .