A secret recipe, family intrigue, false identities, and murder most foul: this is a job for private detective Nick Noir.
The Elk Point Allied Arts stage becomes the Precious Perks Coffee Shoppe for the troupe’s spring production of Death By Chocolate, written by Craig Sodaro. The play runs over two weekends: March 28 – 30, and April 4 and 5. The performances are in the Allied Arts’ customary dinner theatre format, with a brunch matinee March 30.
Nick Noir’s reputation has suffered a blow after a botched case. Down on his luck, he’s looking for an opportunity to crack a crime puzzle and get back in business. Then he gets the good (?) news: there’s been a murder at Precious Perks.
The comedy satirizes the clichés of standard whodunits: the hard-boiled private eye, the roomful of potential suspects, the false leads and red herrings, and the wisecracking dialogue.
At the core of it is a genuine murder-mystery plot: the audience gets to follow the cleverly-woven clues and try to solve the crime along with the bumbling Nick.
Among the characters are a French food critic, an old man and his lady friend, a woman dressed in mourning black, and a country-singing barista. We also meet café owners Coco and Bonbon, a pair of twins who are most definitely not identical.
Of course no one is who they seem to be, making Nick’s job nearly impossible and the case practically unsolvable. But one plot twist at a time, the masks fall away and the clues fall into place.
Whether you’re a mystery solver or a “surprise me” type, it’s all enormous fun.
Elk Point Allied Arts’ community theatre productions have a reputation that extends beyond Elk Point and even well beyond the Lakeland. While the shows (and the buffets!) are always meticulously prepared and exquisitely presented, they retain the charm of amateur drama. The gags land even better from knowing the cast is in on the fun.
