Mystery dinner theater puts new twist on old Christmas favorite
Josh Chase, left, will be Ebenezer Scrooge, Matt Mast will play Jacob Marley and Amber Andreasen will play Belle Fezzi-wig Fletcher as the feature performers of Chris White's murder mystery dinner, "The Death of Jacob Marley."
A thought kept running through Jaime White’s head: How exactly did Jacob Marley become one of the most famous ghosts in literary history?
Now her husband Chris White is ready to take people on a journey into mystery with his new Mystery Dinner Theatre Production stage play that further delves into an old favorite Christmastime story.
A Mystery Dinner Theatre Production will present “The Death of Jacob Marley” on Friday, Nov. 22 and Saturday, Nov. 23 at 6:30 p.m. at the Holmes Center for the Arts building in Millersburg.
The original play was written and directed by Chris White. Starring roles will be played by Josh Chase, who will be Ebenezer Scrooge; Matt Mast, who will be Jacob Marley; and Amber Andreasen, who will play Belle Fezzi-wig Fletcher.
Marley is a fictional character based on the 1843 Charles Dickens novella, “A Christmas Carol,” which features Ebenezer Scrooge.
Marley is Ebenezer Scrooge’s deceased business partner who returns to haunt Scrooge as a chained and tormented ghost, doomed to wander the earth forever as punishment for his greed and selfishness when he was alive.
While not a lot is known about Marley in the novella, Jaime White has always been curious as to exactly how Marley ended up haunting Scrooge. Her husband has run with the idea and chose to delve deeper into the story and create a backstory for Marley, building the series of events that eventually led to his death and ghostly wanderings.
“I’ve had this idea in my head for about a year and a half,” Jaime White said. “I’ve always wanted to do a murder mystery, but I also wanted to incorporate my adult choir into it. Dickens never really told us how Marley died. I thought it would be fun to explore that.”
Jaime White looked all over but couldn’t find anything on the subject. She told her husband she needed someone to write it, and he quickly volunteered his services.
“Chris has always enjoyed the concept of storytelling, and he didn’t hesitate at offering to give it a shot,” Jaime White said. “He and the cast are now working on refining the script, and it should be a lot of fun. It is being built from the ground up, and they are really learning how to tell a story in a way that people can really feel the characters.”
Chris White took two months to pen the script and has kept the story very close to the cuff, even keeping it from his wife, who gave him the idea.
“This is the first time out for me on something like this,” Chris White said. “We are really trying to create a hybrid experience that I can’t say I have seen before with the mystery theater and the choir together for an evening, but we are very excited about it.”
Chris White said he has always enjoyed the power of storytelling, and getting to take several fictional characters and the known information from “A Christmas Carol” and weave it into a fictional tale of what happened to Marley seven years prior to that story at a London Stock Exchange Christmas was something that piqued his interest.
While the main characters are true to Dickens’ story, there are additions from White’s mind including a debtor to Marley, a rival competitor, a scorned diva, an inspector and a master of ceremony whose job is to cast doubt on everyone’s motives.
While White penned the story, he said it has been a collaborative effort as he and the cast continue to weave new information and flesh out the motives and emotions of each of the characters.
“The cast has been very active in giving me fresh feedback,” Chris White said. “They have really dug deep into their characters, and we have had a wonderful collaboration. Everyone has been very invested, and it has been a joy to work with them, and it has been a real learning experience for all of us.”
The cost of the event is $40 per person and includes a catered meal by Old World Bistro and Bakery of Millersburg. The evening menu includes an appetizer of bread and oil at the table, antipasto salad, chicken parmesan, pasta alfredo, green beans and a dessert of white cake with raspberry filling.
“Amanda Beachy of Old World Bistro has been great to work with, and she has been amazing at coming up with the concept of the meal,” Jaime White said. “It is only going to add to what should be a fantastic evening.”
Tickets for the evening may be purchased at www.holmescenterforthearts.org/theatre or by calling 330-473-2879. Tickets must be purchased by Nov. 21. Limited seating is available.
The Holmes Center for the Arts is located at 164 N. Washington St. in Millersburg.