By Benjamin Fowler
Oak Ridge High School Masquers, the school’s drama program, will present “Murder in the Magnolias,” an ensemble comedy, in three performances this month.
The performances are scheduled for 7 p.m. Thursday, November 13, and Saturday, November 15, and 2 p.m. Sunday, November 16, at the Oak Ridge Performing Arts Center. The ensemble comedy blends Southern plays with a dollop of Tara Plantation, delightfully madcap characters, and a garden full of plants with minds of their own. Colonel Rance Chickenwing III passes away, launching a family frenzy to find his buried fortune.
Come see the hilarious cast of students, under the direction of ORPAC Technical Director Joseph Self, as they show the exploits of siblings Amanda and Thornbird Chickenwing, failed movie star Princess Lotta Kargo and her secretary Lorraine, country attorney Lawyer Possum, state engineer Pete Bogg, bowling ball juggler Bubba Kamrowski, outspoken housekeeper Jezabel, belle Blanch Du Blank, the biggest man on campus Sheriff Billy Jerk, and the local voodoo woman in this over-the-top spoof filled with merriment and murder.
Masquers is a student-driven extracurricular program at ORHS of 65-plus students supported by community members and teaching staff. Past performances have included “The Sound of Music,” “Guys and Dolls,” “You Can’t Take It With You,” “Emma,” and many more. Masquers yearly season showcases a fall play, a spring musical, a night of short sketches, and a murder mystery train dinner in conjunction with the Southern Appalachia Railway Museum.
Advance tickets are $6 and available at the ORHS office and The Ferrell Shop.
