THUNDER BAY – It’s a holiday whodunit, as students at a local high school present a very festive mystery for audiences in support of a good cause.
The senior drama class at St. Ignatius High School are bringing The Jingle Bell Mystery by Dan Belanger to the stage this week, with a portion of the proceeds being donated to Thunder Bay Shelter House.
The holiday mystery is a homecoming of sorts, with sisters Lillian and Molly returning to their father’s home on Christmas Eve one year after his death. It turns out, the remaining $1 million in their father’s will is up for grabs, and an eclectic cast of characters, including a butler and maid, a lawyer, friends, and a reporter, will judge who gets the inheritance.
“It’s going to the daughter who most exemplifies the spirit of Christmas, so it’s sort of like a sibling rivalry, but the money ends up going missing, so that’s why it’s called the Jingle Bell Mystery,” said grade 12 student, Shea Niemi, who plays Myrtle the Maid.
There is a lot of holiday spirit in the play, with characters reminiscing about past holidays, decorations adorning the stage, and a few holiday songs thrown into the mix.
According to Thomas Mihaljevic, who plays Basel Stammers the lawyer, the heart of the play really demonstrates what holiday season is all about.
“The play deals with a lot of themes of charity and selflessness and changing as a person,” he said. “So we thought that the play showed a lot of Christmas values and a lot of Catholic values we believe in.”
“It really shows the Christmas spirit and people will come out and feel changed and inspired to be a better person no matter what their circumstance,” added Woja Kenyi, who plays Spencer the Butler.
But even with inspirational and uplifting themes throughout, Mihaljevic said the play still uses a lot of humour and the mystery will keep the audience guessing until the final curtain.
“The play throws a lot of curve balls and a lot of unexpected turns,” he said. “The audience won’t be able to figure out who gets the money until it’s revealed at the very end. There’s a lot to consider, a lot going on.”
The senior drama class has been working on the play throughout the semester as a class project. While there are only 10 cast members on stage, Niemi said the project has been a complete class effort.
“It’s not only the actors who get the whole experience, we need everyone involved in the play, so that’s lighting and sound crew, and back stage,” she said. “Our class has been working really hard and it’s going to be a really satisfying feeling to have all these faces in the audience watching us perform our project.”
A portion of the proceeds from ticket sales will be donated to the Thunder Bay Shelter House and the class also encourages audience members to bring non-perishable food items for donation at the door.
“We chose the Shelter House because around the holidays we want to keep the money local and in Thunder Bay we know the need is high during Christmas time and because it’s a Christmas themed play, we felt that Shelter House would be a good charity to donate to,” Niemi said.
Performances of The Jingle Bell Mystery will be held on Tuesday Dec. 20 and Wednesday Dec. 21 at the St. Ignatius High School Auditorium at 7 p.m. Tickets are $8.
