An Evening of Murder and Magic at Hale Springs Inn

The historic Hale Springs Inn in Rogersville will be offering an evening of spooky thrills and ghostly apparitions on January 27th and 28th.

It is the 83rd anniversary of the long ago tragedy that ended the Inn's love affair with vaudeville theatre. In 1929 the vaudeville magician Morgo the Magnificent was performing his usual act of mind boggling illusions and death defying stunts. As always, he was assisted by his beautiful wife, Clarisse.

The high point of their performance was when Morgo would "saw" Clarisse in half. The illusion wowed and delighted audiences of all ages. But on that fateful night something went terribly wrong.  He sawed her in half. REALLY sawed her in half. In grief and remorse Morgo hanged himself and the couple haunts the location to this day.

Lois Merchant, CEO of Merchant Entertainment, has hired noted seer, Simone the Psychic, who will lead the audience in a seance to contact the ghosts of Morgo and Clarisse. Unfortunately, Simone appears to be a "few crystals short of a ball" and the seance does not proceed exactly as planned.

Someone has stopped breathing... and it isn't the ghosts.

Murder by Magic, written by Eileen Moushey and directed by Adrian Thomas, stars Adam Melton, Tod C Riddle, Stephanie Sorrell, Paige Munroe-Mattocks, Jill Bruce Cunningham and Winnie Seals as Simone the Psychic. Murder by Magic is being produced by Two Pence Productions, a locally owned and operated production company dedicated to bringing quality adult entertainment to the Tri-Citites and surrounding area.

"This show is a lot of fun," says Thomas. "There are spooky moments, confusing moments, silly moments and just plain hilarious moments. The clues to solve the mystery are right there in front of you. You just have to know where to look. You'll be rolling in your seats laughing at our professional troupe of actors. A crime will occur right in front of your eyes. Then you'll become armchair detectives- sleuths - watching for clues, interrogating the suspects and helping to solve the crime. Prizes are awarded for the teams who best solve the mystery."

A four-course gourmet meal prepared by the Hale Springs Inn's renowned chef is included with the ticket price.

Due to adult humor and situations, Murder by Magic is recommended for mature audiences only.

For reservations or more information, please call the Hale Springs Inn at 423-272-5171.

Published January 2, 2012