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The Mystery at Shady Acres was that the crime was solved at all, thanks in part to active audience participation, during the Chisago Lakes Middle School production last week.

Sally Lundholm again directed a cast and crew of CLMS students in the school's annual play. This year, they put on the funny Mystery at Shady Acres.

The action takes place at Shady Acres Hotel in England. Various quirky guests and staff members bustle in and out of the lobby, where all of the scenes take place. The hotel staff are preparing for a very wealthy couple - the Fairfaxes from the U.S. - to arrive for their weekend stay.

During the weekend, Blanch Fairfax (played by Rebekah Meyer) has her diamond necklace stolen, and virtually everyone from other guests to staff, are suspects.

The police bungle the investigation by losing the evidence, and they aren't any closer to solving the crime when Detective Thornton (played by Braden Kirvida) gets involved.

Finally, with the help of the audience who are allowed to ask the suspects questions and turn in their own informant tip sheets, the crime is solved.

The scene is set as guests start arriving Friday morning, to be greeted by the less-than intelligent Basil at the front desk (played by Ari Rodriguez).

The mysterious Mr. X (played by Jenilee Foley) arrives to check in, but Basil tells him to carry his own bags.

"I cannot leave desk for any reason, so sorry, it good exercise!" Basil tells Mr. X.

An English tea garden tour group also arrives to stay at the hotel in between tours of gardens. Maddie Lindahl and Ingrid Johnson are very convincing as old ladies: Patricia (Lindahl) tries to help out Frederica (Wald) as Frederica grumps and complains about everything on the trip, and Patricia merely continues her cross-stitching with a smile on her face.

Other guests are equally colorful, including Lois Banks (played by Alyssa Anderson), her daughter Miranda (played by Thomi Lee) and nanny Myrna Werther (played by Lydia Spading). Lee does a great job as the spoiled, hyper-active Miranda, who at one point bounces herself right off the back of the couch in the lobby.

Albert and Ingrid Brightham (played by Marcus Peterson and Samantha Fusco) check in and are mistaken for the Fairfaxes by Basil, who gives them the best room in the house.

The audience quickly realizes that the Brighthams are kleptomaniacs, stealing everything in the lobby, and soon, in their hotel room too.

Danielle Bebus does a great job as the anxious hotel manager Henrietta Clifford, trying to make things perfect for when the Fairfaxes arrive, and dealing with the incompetency of Basil. She also has to deal with maids who tell her they need to replace soap, shampoo, towels, toilet paper and the shower curtain that seem to have disappeared from the Brightham's room.

Edward (played by J.P. Paulus) and Blanch Fairfax finally arrive, and it is obvious that Blanche is not impressed with Shady Acres and Edward is so madly in love he would bend over backward to please his Blanche.

Soon, Edward runs into another hotel guest, Audrey Rochester (played by Bekah Zabel). Audrey tells Mrs. Clifford that she was once engaged to Edward, and shows disdain toward Blanche.

The funny chef, Heimlich (played by Anna Lasiuk) crawls into the lobby at one point, calling for a mouse that she wants to serve as an appetizer for the evening's dinner. The Fairfaxes then decide to dine elsewhere that evening. The staff discuss the appetites of the Brighthams.

"They didn't have a problem because whatever they didn't eat, they stuffed in their pockets and when I cleaned up, their plates and silverware were gone too," one maid said.

As Mrs. Fairfax dozes on the couch after dinner, her necklace is stolen. Basil is beside himself, because he thinks she is dead.

The inept police force and private detective start to investigate and interview guests and staff, but it is obvious that they are missing key clues to solving the crime.

As they interview Basil, they try to pressure him. "You must understand, this doesn't look good for you."

"What you mean? My mother gave me this," Basil says, looking down at his shirt.

They do manage to stop the Brighthams as they try to carry two suitcases of stolen items from the hotel, including all the missing evidence.

During the intermission, all of the suspects are seated outside the stage curtain and the police chief (played by Allison Gadbois) asks the audience to help question the suspects.

In act two, Det. Thornton assembles the staff and guests to tell them that Basil stole the necklace, but the other staff quickly come to his defense.

Thornton is interrupted by the police, who say it wasn't Basil, and it wasn't the Brighthams, but with the audience's help, they realized it was Audrey Rochester who stole the necklace.

Mr. X's true identity is also revealed as a secret agent, tracking Stanley Larson (played by Dominic Lorenzi), who was hired by Mrs. Clifford to burn down the failing hotel for the insurance money.

Unfortunately, Clifford's arrest puts the maids and Basil out of a job, but the play ends with Edward promising to take them to the U.S. to work for him.

The CLMS cast and crew put together a very entertaining, fun mystery that really did have audiences guessing who-dunit up until the very end, and becoming a part of the play helped audiences keep a close watch on the action throughout every scene.

Other cast members were: Lilly Nyquist, Keesha Johnson, Maggie McCarthy, Barbara Murray, Haley Gajeski, Dre Lenzmeier, Elaina Wald, Jessamy Jones, Megan Bergner, Regen Meyer, Alesha Angel, Maddie Vukich, Seamus Cavanaugh and Hannah Erickson.

Crew members were: Katie Gralisch, Katie Karwand, Sarah Erickson, Maddie Jorgenson and Jaquie Vitali.

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