Carriage Players cruise into mystery to raise funds

Fallbrook Woman's Club members know how to have fun with fundraising as evidenced by the performance of their Carriage Players in their sixth annual mystery play, "The Red Feather Ladies Aboard the SS Titanica," on May 2. The seven members in the cast stayed in character for the whole event.

As guests approached the front door of the women's clubhouse, they were greeted by private investigator and head of security Della Mason (played by Phyllis Audiss) who squirted their hands with anti-bacterial gel, as if they were boarding a real cruise ship. Then they were handed cups of sparkling apple cider as they entered the dining room for a "Cruise into Wealth" lunch.

The Red Feather Ladies made up the crew of the ship as they tried to recoup the money they lost in a previous play, "Who Killed the Roving Romeo of the Red Feather Ladies?" Speaking one at a time, each told about her prior experience with the now-missing guest speaker, B.S. Sutton.

The original play was written by Maxine Holmgren of Riverside, and then adapted for the woman's club by Carriage Players founding member, Debbie Zumwalt. All of the group's members have past experience in acting to varying degrees, and all obviously relished their dramatic roles with humorous effect.

The other actresses were Lee Johnson as Gloria Somered, (Guest Relations); Sue Colby as Tiffany Hilton (Activity Director); Helga Rosser as Lady Diamond (Gift Shop Manager); Sandy Becker as Lana Homesley (Pool Attendant); Bev DeVilbiss as Ruby Rose (Dining Room Steward) and Kären Feyler as Mindy Lowhand (Passenger Services).

The ladies had practiced their roles for three months and sold 72 tickets for the event. The proceeds benefit the club's philanthropic and scholarship funds.

The delightful play on words, puns, and sinking ship references were accompanied by a delicious lunch of chicken, rice and vegetables, with Caesar salad and rolls followed by a tasty cake with fresh, mixed berries. The "Iron Chefs" for the meal were Roxann Clouse and Marcy Pesceone. Each place setting included a bag of toffee, party favors akin to chocolates left on one's pillow each night of a real cruise.

During dessert, audience members wrote down their guesses as to which character was responsible for B.S. Sutton's disappearance. One slip from the 13 correct guesses was then drawn for the prize of a gift basket (won by Donna Cox). The guests also got a chance to win the centerpiece at each table, a bowl of fabric lilies.

The performance was dedicated to Zumwalt and to Ayn Bryant, a former member of the acting group who moved to Florida. It will be interesting to see what kind of trouble these talented ladies will get into in next year's play.

Photos by Lucette Moramarco.