MURDER ON THE 518. The Valley Heights All School Play was held on November 14, 15, and 16 at the Waterville Opera House. “Murder On The 518” is a family friendly murder mystery that had the audience on the edge of their seats throughout the show. “Murder On The 518” is a play about a diverse group of passengers who are traveling for work and other various reasons. On this train there is a rockslide in the middle of nowhere so that prevents any cell reception. Through all of this chaos, there’s two mysterious murders on this train trip. So, the other passengers became investigators, trying to solve this murder, where it’s revealed that one of the passengers is the murderer. Sophomore Teagan Spoonts said, “It was really cool to see some of my friends have a different personality on stage, and I thought the arguments between characters was entertaining.”
Director of the All School Play, Miss Jones said, “The biggest adversity we all faced was the talented cast members being so involved in school activities like FFA National Convention and fall sports, that it took students away from some play practices.” Jones also claimed, “My two favorite moments on stage were the way everyone reacted to Isabella Madison’s death. I am proud of how I staged this scene, it reminded me of a renaissance painting. My other favorite moment was when the chefs chased Owen Casey, Abby Wells, and Lauren Maloney out of the train kitchen through the end of the scene where Mike Umbarr says “Go team” to the group of passengers who were trying to solve the murder.”
Looking back on this year’s play, there’s many memories that the cast and crew will never forget, and endless laughs shared in the Opera House during late night rehearsals. When asked what her favorite moment and challenges were, junior cast member, Jaqueline Sandoval, playing the role of Rachel Knox said, “My favorite moment from the play was when Lawson Stryker ripped his pants on stage during Saturday night’s show and we all tried not to laugh during the scene. I faced some challenges playing Rachel Knox but the most difficult was when I had to fake cry.” When asked what her favorite part of being a stage crew member was, junior Kinze Wessel said, “Practicing where each prop was supposed to be for each scene.”
When asked what his favorite part of the show was, senior Gavin Crowder said, “When I watched the play on Friday, opening night, there were a few moments that I thought were funny. At the beginning of the play, I predicted who the murderer was, and I was right!” Senior Carter Germann claimed, “My character, Owen Casey, was a focused and fussy private investigator. I will miss watching the cast and crew come together to perform the show.” Senior cast member Lawson Stryker said, “The most difficult part of performing was trying to not react to ripping my pants on stage,” most audience members probably didn’t even realize this occurred as the cast stayed in character and Lawson was facing the audience. Stryker continued to say, “My favorite part of acting this year was getting to yell and argue with someone without getting in trouble.”
The Valley Heights High School All School Play members can’t thank the families, friends, and community that showed their support. There’s truly no better feeling than performing the show for a full house almost every show!
Article by Kaitlin Hemry