Jan. 10 — Mystery dinner turns residents into actors

Sumner High School students host a Murder Mystery Dinner to benefit the Sumner/Bonney Lake Education Foundation

Roxanne Cooke / of the Herald

It might sound daunting to transform a middle school cafeteria into a 1920s-era speakeasy, but Sumner High School DECA members made it happen.

Well, a speakeasy without real alcohol, anyway.

Summer Hash and Netanya Rommel, both Sumner High School juniors, put together the Murder Mystery Dinner to raise money for the Sumner/Bonney Lake Education Foundation. The fundraiser was sponsored by Sumner High’s chapter of DECA, a student-led organization focusing on business and marketing.

Guests came dressed up as 20s-themed characters, ready to interrogate other characters to determine who committed the murder of the fictitious Ed Malone.

Jazzy tunes filled the air throughout dinner. The lighting was dim and several tables were set with feather boas, fedoras, pearls and dice. Candles provided just the right mood. A cityscape covered part of a wall, lit from behind by the cafeteria’s kitchen lights.

And then there were the characters. One man wore a paisley handkerchief around his neck, a train conductor’s hat and suspenders. Another guest wore a dazzling red dress and a pair of black fishnet stockings. Feather boas and shiny sequins were a common sight.

Sumner High School teacher John Norlin played Ralph Schmidt, the speakeasy’s bouncer. Norlin said his character’s goal was to keep out the cops.

“I have a cold demeanor until my friends come in,” he said.

No “cops” came to disrupt the party, but shortly after dinner, the lights went out, there was a banging noise and someone let out a bloodcurdling scream. Ed Malone had been killed.

The 30 or so characters gathered around the stage to hear the narrator, played by Sumner High School teacher Marshall Blansfield, explain the rules of the game.

“Everyone in this room is a suspect,” he said.

Each person received a more descriptive character sheet with a motive, weapon, or opportunity. Only the murderer’s character sheet had all three.

The goal for the rest of the evening was to question other characters and determine the identity of the killer. Everyone but the murderer had to tell the truth about his or her character.

All the guests spent almost an hour mingling, acting and interrogating each other. Officer O’Flaherty, played by Sumner School Board member Sherm Voiles, wandered around talking in an Irish accent.

“Ed Malone is a scoundrel,” he said.

Some characters became suspicious, pointing out immediately that an officer would have a gun.

“I had no reason to kill him,” Voiles said in his character’s voice.

Nearby, Mary Marques acted as a burlesque dancer named Reese Evans.

“He was my regular guy,” she said of Malone. “He (was) a very generous man.”

She wouldn’t elaborate.

Things got juicy when speakeasy owner Doris Plunkett, played by former Sumner/Bonney Lake Education Foundation board member Debbie Norris, conversed with the jazz singer, who was played by Sumner High senior Michelle Shomper. Shomper, acting as the singer, told Plunkett that Ed Malone was planning on blackmailing her. Plunkett had earlier claimed that she and Ed Malone had a good relationship — he was her booze supplier.

While Plunkett admitted she was the one who found Ed Malone’s body, Donna Hardtke, who played Rosey Radish, the head of the speakeasy’s band, had an alibi — she was outside looking for her husband when the gun was shot.

Hardtke, speaking as herself and not Rosey Radish, enjoyed herself during the event.

“It’s fun,” she said. “It’s something different to do.”

Guests consumed dessert while the votes for best character were counted. The winner was Voiles. As for the killer…

It was Reese Evans, in a back room of the speakeasy, with a Tommy gun. Turns out she was secretly a femme fatale assassin who tricked Ed Malone into a private dance. Her motive: greed.

Afterward, Marques said she enjoyed playing the character of Reese Evans.

“It was great fun,” she said. “I’ve never been a winner at Clue, so I needed all the advantages I could get.”