The Ya-Ya Gals celebrated their illustrious friendship by attending the Ravenwood Masquerade Murder Mystery hosted by Bruce County Playhouse January 27 at the Southampton Town Hall.

Hub Staff

There was a murder at the Ravenwood! And over 50 people dressed to impress tried to identify the cunning suspect during the Ravenwood Masquerade Murder Mystery hosted by Bruce County Playhouse January 27 at the Southampton Town Hall.

The third annual event took place in a castle which featured numerous props and even living mannequins painted gold. The night consisted of four rounds: an ice breaker round, followed by the second round where a murder takes place, the third round is filled with accusations, followed by the fourth and final round where the culprit is named.

Natalie Robitaille, Artist Director for Bruce County Playhouse said that she was amazed by the effort that people took in their appearances. “A masquerade ball could be quite extensive for a costume, to finding the gowns and the masks because it’s not Halloween or anything, so it could be hard to find. So it was actually really impressive to see all the masks that people had and how much they got into it.”

Robitaille noted a few standouts from the evening. ”There was a person whose character wanted to be a fisherman and wanted everyone to call him “Captain”, and he showed up with a Captain’s sailing hat and the whole Hawaiian shirt and the whole get-up, it was really great. And there was another gentleman who was part of a very mysterious group and he came with a black hood and a full black face mask it was very, ugh, some people got nervous around him, which was a lot of fun. Then there were some beautiful purple masks that were really nice and a gentleman showed up in a tuxedo too so it was really wonderful to see,” said the Artistic Director who had donned a purple gown for the occasion.

Proceeds from the Murder Mystery will go towards the refurbishment of the Southampton Town Hall, said Robitaille. “We’re starting a campaign because we’re heading into our third season here in the Town Hall and we’re constantly striving to upgrade some things that are here and curtains are quite essential to doing shows, to doing plays, so we’re hoping to raise some money to at least have a back curtain for the summer,” she said.

Bruce County Playhouse is all set with two shows for their 2018 summer season. The 39 Steps, a stage adaptation by Patrick Barlow of the 1915 John Buchan novel that was also a 1935 film by Alfred Hitchcock. And Norm Foster’s Storm Warning is set in 1953 and tells the story of two hearts coming together one September weekend.

There will also be a youth theatre element through DuffleBag Theatre during the summer months.

Friends in character were Cathe McIntosh (left) as a magician’s assistant, Nancy Czarny as an entourage member, and Bonnie Charlton who came armed as she played a key member in the Silver Dollar Mob Gang at the Ravenwood Masquerade Murder Mystery January 27.

Behind the feathered mask was a crooked car salesman.

Lorrie Bjerg stayed true to character as a makeup artist while Terina Wnuk came as a Scuba Instructor.

Harry Schildroth and Roma Rolfe were people watching in the early part of the ball.

Natalie Robitaille, Artistic Director for Bruce County Playhouse (left) made sure everyone was assigned the correct character as they entered the Ravenwood Castle, a transformed Southampton Town Hall.

The characters hopped from person to person during the “icebreaker round” at the Ravenwood Masquerade Murder Mystery hosted by Bruce County Playhouse January 27.