Royal MTC’s Murder for Two coming to town Feb. 22
The Arborg & District Multicultural Heritage Village is excited to have the opportunity to provide local theatre lovers with a little intrigue and lots of drama when it presents a Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre musical next month, two months before the play opens in Winnipeg.
Murder for Two, by Joe Kinosian and Kellen Blair, is a blend of theatrical genres – a musical, a comedy and an old-fashioned murder mystery – that’s sure to please. It features two actors playing a dozen characters, as well as a piano. The plot centres around the murder of author Arthur Whitney, moments before his surprise birthday party, and the sleuthing efforts of small-town police officer Marcus Moscowicz and his partner, Lou.
It’s not the first time the village’s chair Pat Eyolfson has brought theatrical and other performances to Arborg. But it’s the first time she’s collaborated with the Royal MTC.
She took the initiative to bring the musical murder-comedy to town as a way to provide a little pick-me-up for residents in the grips of an unforgiving and unpredictable Manitoba winter.
“I had been talking with a production person at MTC, asking her if they’d ever consider coming out our way and how we could partner. I’d love to see something coming to our town,” said Eyolfson, who was the recipient of the Lieutenant Governor’s Award for Historical Preservation and Promotion in 2016 in recognition of her efforts to create the heritage village. “Then lo and behold I got a call back from the lovely lady at MTC and she wondered if we’d be interested in hosting Murder for Two, and I said, ‘Absolutely.’”
Eyolfson previously worked with Winnipeg-based theatre groups such as Theatre Projects Manitoba, which presented Chautauqua: The Interlake Trail a number of years ago, and she’s arranged accommodations for companies, including billeting people at her place.
“I reach out to them [theatre companies] because I feel sad for our communities in that we don’t often get any of these entertaining events to take part in,” said Eyolfson. “If I see something in the city I’m interested, then I try to find out who’s connected to it and get them to come out to Arborg.”
And Eyolfson herself is a playwright, having written several witty theatrical plays to entertain visitors and supporters of the heritage village during the museum’s dinner theatre events, dances and fundraisers.
“We’ve always made our own plays. The first one was Shotgun Wedding. I wrote the first six or seven plays, which centred around hillbillies,” said Eyolfson. “Then we staged the Hatfields and McCoys and involved the audience in the action.”
The village is a designated Manitoba Star Attraction. It’s located on about 13 acres along the Icelandic River and showcases historical buildings, artefacts and stories from around the Interlake. Its historical buildings include an Icelandic family home, general store, a church, school and a mill. The museum attracts thousands of visitors to the area each summer, has a campground and provides jobs to young adults.
The heritage village will present Murder for Two on Saturday, Feb. 22 at 7:30 p.m. at the Arborg-Bifrost Community Centre, which has a 500-seat capacity.
“We’re expecting to get about 300 people, but we’d love to get more,” said Eyolfson.
There are a number of ways to purchase a ticket. People can do an e-transfer to the heritage village administration: admhv4007@gmail.com and the tickets will be held at the door. They can also call the heritage village’s treasurer at (204) 671-0203 or pop into the Arborg Pharmacy on Main Street to buy a ticket. Tickets are $25.
The play is set to open in April in Winnipeg.
