ALL-IN-ONE - Cast members of "A Lighter Shade of Noir" will be presenting their play at 7 p.m. on Nov. 21 and 2 p.m. Nov. 23 at the Waseca Junior Senior High School performing arts center.
"A Lighter Shade of Noir" to perform Nov. 21 and 23
Thu, 11/20/2025 - 1:30am
More than 20 Waseca students will present the comic mystery “A Lighter Shade of Noir” at 7 pm. Nov. 21 and 2 p.m. Nov. 23 in the Waseca Junior Senior High School performing arts center.
The 90-minute play introduces audiences to the talents and traits of detectives Trent Trowel, Monsieur Eustache, Tracy Dyck, Miss Beatrice and Shirley Holmes. The gumshoes are all in attendance at an international gala; many have brought artifacts from their most famous cases. The lights go out, and the artifacts are gone.
Suddenly, the legendary investigators have a personal stake in solving a mystery.
Senior Jude Robinson, cast as Mr. Watson in the play, predicts the audience will enjoy the staged reenactments which supply a live-action illustration for the theories each of the detectives offers while trying to determine the culprit. “Everybody is running back and forth showing how each version of the crime would look,” he describes, going on to say the entire play is filled with “chaotic fun.”
Seventh-grader Audrey Gray, cast as Mrs. Benedict, says the accents and characterizations in the play add entertainment value. She also recommends that audience members look for small details and behaviors which the actors have devised for their characters to show how they “really feel,” no matter what they may be saying. The “stage whispers” among characters also add humor, she suggests.
Eighth grader Hailey Proehl, in the role of scheming gangster Big Bill, says she enjoys the many touches of humor in the play. She also believes everyone who comes will have the chance to recognize “the amazing amount of talent” the cast and crew bring to the performance. “It’s really impressive what everyone is bringing to the play,” she says.
Stage manager Amber Hagen and “waiter” Carlo Driessen say they believe the energy and humor in the play will be appealing to all ages. They also hope their fellow students will recognize how much fun everyone on the stage is having. “That way they might consider joining the drama program,” she says optimistically.
“Then they could be part of the fun, too,” suggests Driessen.
Admission to the play is $7 for adults, $5 for students.