Crab Cakes and Murder Dinner Theatre Comes to the HCAC

A delicious meal followed by a murder is always how the Hardeman County Arts Council’s (HCAC) dinner theatre productions begin. Because that recipe seems to work well, the HCAC now presents Crab Cakes and Murder by playwright Michael Druce on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, February 9 – 11, 2023. And yes, a delicious meal will be served and there will be a murder. You can’t have a murder mystery without a murder.

Dinner guests are invited to the family home of Captain Savage Raines (Vernon Wood), owner of Peg Legg Seafoods, who has mysteriously gone missing at sea after a surprise storm. Sheriff Sandy Shoals (Wesley Estes ) immediately assumes Captain Raines is dead, and so the mystery begins.

Through the course of meeting Captain Raines’ “loved ones”, the audience is left to conclude Raines was not really a very nice guy. So, maybe he did deserve to be murdered after all.

His wife, Peggy Legg-Raines (Tan Turner) is sardonic and all business and his twin daughters, Calamity (Marnina Smeltser) and Misery (Ashley Williams), are “just a little bit” selfish and self-centered, respectfully. His other daughter, Decadence Raines (Megan King), is honest to a fault, and be careful how you say her name.

Raines’ extended family is not any better with his sister and brother-in-law, Dungeness Crabbe (Denise Estes) and Stone Crabbe (Cliff Jowers), who are whiny and clueless, respectfully.

The cast includes several HCAC veterans like Wesley Estes who fought crime in the last production in which he appeared; Denise Estes who last made you laugh as a church lady; Phillip McMahan who returns after a hiatus and last appearance as a silent-movie heartthrob; Marnina Smeltser who last played an independent and rebellious princess; and Vernon Wood who has been in a number of HCAC dinner theatre productions as characters who keep getting murdered. He was quick to remind us, speaking as Captain Savage Raines, “You can’t trust anyone, not even family!”

They are joined by Tan Turner who is making her first acting appearance. Tan shared she was a little nervous about auditioning, but also exhibited confidence in her performance.

“I always wanted to do it (audition) but was a little nervous and shy. I decided I am just going to do it,” said Tan who recognizes similar qualities between Peggy and herself. “I think we have similar personalities . . . a little sassy and spicy, but still sweet.”

This is the first time Braden Foster and Megan King have appeared in an HCAC production, but not the first time on the HCAC stage. Both were first and second place winners, respectively, in the 2022 Hardeman’s Got Talent contest.

“I like theatre, but never got to do it. This has been a new opportunity,” said Megan who enjoys playing Decadence. “I like that she is quirky and kind of the odd one out of the sisters.”

Braden plays C.D. Lawyer, whose name should give you a hint of the type of lawyer he portrays.

The last time Ashley Williams performed in front of an audience was when she was a cheerleader in high school. Although she too was a bit nervous about auditioning, Ashley was looking for something to do in her community.

“I wanted to get out of the house instead of just staying home at night,” said Ashley who runs an independent pharmacy in Bolivar. “This is something fun that I wanted to try to see if I liked. It has been good. This is a smaller play, so it doesn’t make me as nervous to participate.”

Phillip McMahan has enjoyed the rehearsals and is looking forward to the performances.

“It feels good to be back. The cast is great,” said Phillip who plays the mysterious harbor master, Hump Day.

Co-directors Joyce Byers and Anthony Pulse have directed together on other HCAC productions. They both are excited about the production and the cast of returning and new people. Tickets for the production have sold well with the Friday night performance already being close to a sellout and Saturday night not being too far behind. The Thursday night dinner theatre performance was added this week due to quick ticket sales.

A common response from all the cast members with whom we spoke was they all agreed the production is quite funny. Everyone joining them for a delicious meal and a murder mystery at the Raines’ home should expect a lot of laughs and to have a lot of fun.

Dinner will be served before the performance and this year the HCAC is offering two entrée choices of two-piece chicken tenders or two-piece fried catfish. Other menu items included with the entrée choice are a baked potato, slaw, hush puppies, and banana pudding.

You may purchase tickets online now for reserved seating to the HCAC dinner theatre production of Crab Cakes and Murder.

Read more local news by clicking here.

Stay informed on what’s happening in Hardeman County by following Hatchie Press on Facebook and subscribing to Hatchie Press e-mail updates.

Do you have community news you’d like to share? E-mail us at news@hatchiepress.com