Col. Mustard wasn’t in attendance, but there were plenty of suspects at the Buena Vista Museum of Natural History on Oct. 6.
The museum had a “murder mystery” fundraising event put on by the actors at downtown Bakersfield’s Spotlight Theater.
Several “murders” occurred during a gala for the lost city of Budidesh, which was really the Yokut Native American dwelling area put up last year by the museum, and everyone in attendance had to figure out which of the actors did it.
Detective Brick Johnson, played by Don Kurszka, was originally called out by Buena Vista director Koral Hancharick, playing herself, to investigate a missing megalodo fossil during the Budidesh “gala.”
Arrogant archaeologist Nevada Slade, played by Phil Valasquez, in attendance with his alcoholic mother Marie Slade, played by Cheryl Smith Ellis, claimed to have discovered the lost city of Budidesh. However, his colleague James Ivory, played by Seth Schott, resented this assertion, claiming he found Budidesh and that Nevada “couldn’t find the toy in a Cracker Jack box.”
Also at the gala was museum “curator” Winifred Worthington III, played by Julie Jordan Scott. She “acquired” the museum from her deceased husband Walter Worthington, who had a good relationship with Nevada Slade as a child and may have slept with Marie.
After all of the characters had introduced themselves to the audience, a large scream could be heard from downstairs. Detective Johnson rushed down to the scene to find James laying face down in the dirt next to the missing fossil. Detective Johnson declared him dead.
Detective Johnson cleared everyone from downstairs after butchering the names of the megalodon fossil, which he called?a “Megadeth” fossil, and the lost city of Budidesh, which he called “balderdash,” “Budapest,” “Bangladesh” and others. The audience went upstairs where dinner was served.
Before dinner, Nevada showed off the Budidesh exhibit and declared himself “the greatest archaeologist in the world.” During dinner, the characters sat and conversed with the audience, answering any questions they had and establishing their alibis. Mrs. Worthington and Marie Slade argued with each other periodically during the night.
After dinner, the bickering exchange between Marie and Mrs. Worthington came to a climax as the lights went out. When they came back on, Marie Slade was slouching on the table dead.
The audience was instructed by Detective Johnson to go back downstairs, and when they did, they found Mrs. Worthington dead on the floor close to the entrance of the museum. Detective Johnson asked everyone in the audience to help figure out who the murderer was while dessert was being served.
With everyone gathered toward the scene of the final murder giving their predictions of who the killer was, James Ivory arose from the top of the stairs to confess that he was the killer.
Detective Johnson had incompetently declared him dead without checking his pulse, leaving him free to turn out the lights after dinner and kill Marie Slade. As he was going back downstairs, Mrs. Worthington noticed him, and he had to kill her, too.
People who were close to predicting the murderer were given prizes at the end.
On Oct. 12 and 13, the Buena Vista Museum of Natural History will have a “haunted house” fundraising event.
Julie Jordan Scott, who played Winifred Worthington, is currently performing at Bakersfield College in the Kern Shakespeare Festival play “Trolius and Cressida.”