NORMAN — Barbra Streisand, Shania Twain, Janis Joplin, Elvis Presley and Chris Farley will soon make an appearance in Norman — well, their impersonators will be, anyway.
Community members will take on personas in Sooner Theatre’s annual murder mystery fundraiser, “Murder Impersonated,” at 6:30 p.m. Feb. 10 and 11 at Old Town Plaza, 102 W. Eufaula St.
“It’s just so much fun,” said Jennifer Baker, Sooner Theatre executive director. “We get voluntary community members who give up their time to sing and dance and learn the script to raise money for the Sooner Theatre. It’s important to us.”
Written by Jud Foster and James Briggs of the Norman Parks and Recreation Department, this year’s show follows the antics of celebrity impersonators as they attempt to discover who murdered the sleazy concert promoter Tony Vegas.
As the show proceeds despite the tragic death, audience members will collect clues from the script and song lyrics to solve the who-done-it, said Nancy Coggins, Sooner Theatre public relations director. During two brief intermissions, audience members can purchase clues from cast members.
“The more you donate toward a hint, the better hint you get,” she said. “It’s fun to watch people look at their wallets. It does get competitive and we love it. We love every minute of it. It makes it fun for the audience and makes it not feel like a typical fundraiser.
“They get lost in the moment, they get lost in the story and they get lost in the hilarity of it all. And we want that. We want them to have the best time ever — we’re show people, at the end of the day.”
At the end of the night, guesses on who killed the concert promoter will be collected and correct answers will be entered into a raffle for prizes, such as tickets to the Sooner Theatre, Coggins said.
Baker said this year’s fundraiser has an opportunity Sooner Theatre murder mystery fans won’t want to miss.
“This year, we’re adding something really special, and I am so excited about it. We are doing a silent auction item ... Just one. We’re going to auction off a role in next year’s murder mystery. Whoever gets that role will get to be featured in the show, and I think people will love that,” she said about the purchased role that can go to the buyer or for a person of the buyer’s choice. “We hope that’s going to be a great item that people are just fighting over.”
All proceeds from the yearly fundraiser help the Sooner Theatre to continue offering theater programs, Coggins said.
“We wouldn’t be able to do a good number of the things we do,” she said in reference to the importance of the fundraiser. “It raises about $20,000 to 30,000 of our budget. That’s about 10 percent of our budget.”
Benvenuti’s will cater dinner at the murder mystery.
The production’s song lyrics are by Stephanie Royse of University Press. Cast members include James Briggs, Kerri Brinkman White, Jody White, Terri Nevin-Hesselroth, Jay Potts, Mark Krittenbrink, Sharon Pyeatt, Jud Foster, Linda Boatright and Shirley Franklin.
Sooner Theatre productions, concerts and programs are made possible in part by the support of the Oklahoma Arts Council, the National Endowment for the Arts and the Norman Arts Council, Republic Bank & Trust and Toby and Tricia Covell.
The production is underwritten in part by The Hyden Fund, a charitable donor-advised fund of the Norman Community Foundation.
For more information on upcoming performances or performing arts educational opportunities, contact the Sooner Theatre 321-9600 or visit www.soonertheatre. com.
Hannah Cruz 366-3533 hcruz@normantranscript.com
