This past weekend, Christendom’s Class of 2024 presented the college’s annual Mystery Dinner Theater, titled “The Murder at the Mudboot: The Untold Story of a Second-Rate Sleuth!” Performed over three evenings, the show was a massive hit with audiences, successfully raising nearly $10,000 — a Mystery Dinner Theater record — for the annual senior class gift.
Mystery Dinner Theater is a huge undertaking and commitment each year, with members of Christendom’s senior class always directing, writing, and producing the show. This year was no different, with seniors Mark Cermak and Kathleen Thomas (writers), and Clara Raabe (director) putting in hours of work behind the scenes to bring this year’s production to life. The result was a wildly popular show that stood out to both audiences and the show’s cast and crew.
Students John Paul Driver (left) and Mary Fowler (right) perform a scene from this year’s Mystery Dinner Theater.
“The team’s chemistry and ad-lib abilities, alongside the excellent directing of Clara Raabe, all stood out to me,” says Chris Mathias, one of the actors in this year’s production. “Every practice, Clara ran us through various improv scenarios in character, and each time, the team bounced with ease from joke to joke. The audience told me they couldn’t tell it was improved. All the cast excelled in their roles, and I am blessed with the opportunity Christendom offers me to act and study outside of a theater major.”
Mystery Dinner Theater provides creative and theatrical opportunities for students of all classes to come together for a hilarious performance. One of the actors, Mary Fowler, says that she gained not just theatrical experience from the show, but stronger connections with her cast and crewmates as well.
Students John Fowler (center), Giovanni Riguera-Petta (left), and Erin McLaughlin (right) in a scene from Mystery Dinner Theater.
“I have been to Mystery Dinner Theater performances before, but acting in the show and being a part of it trumps all,” says Fowler. “I think the connection I now have with these people, whom I otherwise wouldn’t have really gotten to know, is the greatest reward from the experience.”
“The Murder at the Mudboot” was set in Brooklyn, New York, at the Mudboot Hotel. The proud owner of the hotel is found murdered one night and so Detective Clue, played by John Fowler, begins his investigation, with all the employees and residents of the hotel proving to be suspects. During the show’s two intermissions, the audience was encouraged to interact with cast members and purchase clues from them to figure out the mystery and guess who they thought the murderer was in the hopes of winning a final prize.
During the show’s intermissions, the case walked through the audience in character, selling clues to help audience members guess who committed the show’s murders.
“Having never really done any stage acting before, I didn’t really know what to expect,” says John Paul Driver, who played the owner of the hotel, Richard R. Richley. “However, both the screenwriters and fellow actors made the experience so relaxing and fun, allowing the actors to brainstorm and put their own spin on the story. I think the onstage chemistry and teamwork was one of the best parts of the show.”
Stephen Simpson (left) and Fowler (right) in a scene from Mystery Dinner Theater.
Through ticket sales, clue purchases, and purchases at the bar, this year’s Mystery Dinner Theater ultimately raised a total of $9,745, making it one of the most successful in the history of this event.
The show was a massive hit with audiences, successfully raising nearly $10,000 — a Mystery Dinner Theater record — for the annual senior class gift.
So far this year, the senior class of 2024 has raised over $18,000, with their funds going towards a new Marian statue for the planned expansion of the Madonna Hall faculty offices. In the past, classes have used the senior gift for the construction of the college’s Crusader Fields scoreboard, the overall beautifying of campus, the completion of Christ the King Chapel, and more.
Contributed by Samia Clerico ’24.