This is the title of the second melodrama murder mystery presented by the Friends of the Nevada State Museum. It is a great fund raiser and people seem to enjoy our shenanigans. It’s fun to do…if you don’t mess up your lines and then forget the next cue. Trust me, I did that in this play.
It began a few months ago when our intrepid script writers, Dave and Kathy went on a cruise. The more beers they consumed, the funnier the lines and gags became. It really is a fun story. I was originally going to be in charge of the raffle and not have a role in the play. However, one of the players was going to have knee replacement surgery and had to back out. There used to be a commercial in So. Cal. with the line “Who ya gonna call?” I was the recipient of that call and became Peachy Keen (in lieu of Black Barbara as in the last play). (Don’t forget to click on the pictures to enlarge them.)
Kim Chi (Kathy) and Billy Bob Barrista (Dave) were the script writers.
Rehearsals began, and again, we never had all of the players together until it was getting close to the play date. We tried to get away with fewer rehearsals but we never got our lines and cues right. So we ended up having 4 rehearsals in the 5 days before the actual play. We were originally going to have it at the Governor’s Mansion, but there was a mix-up with an event planned by the First Lady, so we got bumped. We ended up presenting our play in the cozy atmosphere of the museum. The room only holds 60 people but it worked out ok. We hope to do the play again next April at the Governor’s Mansion.
The play takes place in Ginny City (Virginia City) in the Red Light Saloon, Bed, Bath and Brothel. It’s a going enterprise that the mayor’s wife wants to shut down and turn into a high-class tea salon. Polly Tician-Highgrade is ahead of her time as a women’s libber and wants women to have the vote. Maybe even have a woman run for president some day. (Imagine that!) Of course, the men in the town do not want a tea salon. The town is filled with shady characters and the plot is rife with shady dealings, graft and grime.
Polly Tician-Highgrade, a powerful, rich woman in Ginny City
Here are some of the characters.
Julia Bouillabaisse, high madam at the Red Light Saloon. Polly Tician-Highgrade. Harry Highgrade, Ginny City’s mayor
Death Valley Dick, foreman of the Gottrocks min but is really a Pinkerton agent. Rich Gold-digger, who learned how to undermine Jack Gottrocks’ mine. Matt Basterson, the sheriff. Slick Thumb, Ginny City’s assayer.
Fannie Mae East, Rich Gold-digger’s girl friend and identical twin to Fannie Mae South. The twins are dancers/singers at the Red Light Saloon, Bed, Bath and Brothel.
Fanny Mae South from the North. Peachy Keen, singer/dancer (?) who trained in San Francisco at the Institute of Vulcanology. She is taking over Fannie Mae South’s role at the Bag Piper’s Opera House.
There are more characters, but there are not good pictures of them. The puns and bad jokes were great in this play and the audience supported us with lots of groans, laughs and boos.
Peachy is searching for her long lost daddy who might be in Ginny City. She ends up knowing a lot of dirt about many folks in this town that Peachy thinks is too rough for the likes for little, ol’ her.
Peachy ends up getting the shaft and is carted back into the saloon in a Gottrocks Mine ore cart.
Peachy comes to and is helped out of the cart and into a chair
After Peachy gives a few clues, she has a dramatic passing. Everyone is shocked!
While the Sheriff and Death Valley Dick are finding out who is the murderer, Peachy keeps an eye on what is going on. You know, it’s a bit dry on stage and she drinks a beer while watching the proceedings.
The cast is receiving votes as to who did the dastardly deed. Peachy is still sitting on her death chair, still observing
Well, I didn’t con anyone to take over the raffle, so Jerri and I are reading off the winners of the superb raffle that we had. We even had gifts from Governor Sandoval!
Of course, it’s traditional for anyone who passes on to get flowers, and Peachy was no exception. Here she is with her long lost daddy, Rich Gold-digger and Jack Gottrocks.
Murder at the Mine was a lot of fun to do, even though I groused about having to learn lines, etc. Once one gets into it, one enjoys the camaraderie of the cast and it’s kind of a kick with the in jokes that a cast develops. I appreciate the folks who asked me and am glad they did.
buzzardnotes 
great pictures…what a cast!