BELLOWS FALLS, Vt. – The Rockingham Free Public Library, in collaboration with Main Street Arts, invites the community to a hilarious evening of mystery and murder with a production of “Murder by the Book,” a play written by Louise Teasdale and sponsored by mystery author Louise Penny.
The Town of Two Spruce is about to lose their beloved library. A team of volunteer actors come to its financial rescue by staging a murder mystery fundraiser. But, on opening night, a real murder most foul threatens to thwart their theatrical aspirations. Lucy the librarian and a team of quirky volunteer actors and library lovers scramble to solve the crime before the curtain rises and the library is lost forever.
Performances will be Friday, Jan. 17, and Saturday, Jan. 18, at 7 p.m.; and Sunday, Jan. 19, at 2 p.m., at Main Street Arts in Saxtons River. Tickets are $12 general admission, and are available online at www.mainstreetarts.org, and at the door. Directed by Sam Howard, the show features a talented ensemble of local actors.
The script for the play comes compliments of an interesting project created by mystery writer Penny, and playwright Teasdale. After the success of their fundraising endeavor for the oldest free library in Quebec, many librarians reached out to ask about using that script as a fundraiser for their libraries. But that script was just too specific to Quebec’s Eastern Townships area. Other communities wouldn’t get the jokes. So, Penny commissioned Teasdale to write a royalty-free and adaptable script that can be produced by any library, anywhere.
For more information, contact Sam at youthservices@rockinghamlibrary.org or 802-463-4270, or go to www.mainstreetarts.org. This production will benefit the Rockingham Free Public Library.