Alva Review-Courier -

“It’s hilarious,” Matt Thom said of the Heritage Players' production of a comedy/mystery play this weekend at the Heritage Center in Medicine Lodge, Kansas. “It’s just under an hour long,” he said.

Performances are Friday, April 27, and Saturday, April 28, at 7 p.m. A matinee is Sunday at 2 p.m. All shows are at the Heritage Center Community Room, located at Highway 160 and Isabel Road. Enjoy popcorn during the show.

The 1979 Medicine Lodge grad said the play is “And Then There was One,” by Michael Druce. The play is a spoof of the famous stage mystery and is all comedy, filled with sight gags and dialogue. “It’s a hoot,” Thom said of the 10-member play.

The plot is about ten people who are brought together by mysterious invitation to the Reef on a tiny, isolated island. Not one of them knows the host, who is nowhere to be found. Still, he has left an ominous recording that bodes evil for the guests. They begin to die one by one. Even character Inspector Miles, one of the guests, doesn’t know who the murderer is among the group.

Tickets at the door. Proceeds help provide a scholarship for a Medicine Lodge senior and give support to the Heritage Center.

The cast is comprised of: Louis Green, Steve Garten, John Haygood, Shirley Green, Adde Davenport, Delaney Davenport, Tim Wortman, Jack Wortman, Jeff Davenport and Dana McKinney. Thom’s assistants are: Lois Wortman and Eilene Schmidt. The technical crew is Mike Sill and Kyler Sill.

Thom is a retired theater school teacher. He has 27 years as an educator in Texas where he built the Brownsville High School (a 5A school) Theater Department to 140. He was involved in NWOSU’s theater department and Alva’s Act One theater from 1980-83.

He moved back to Medicine Lodge two years ago where he has family. He is the eldest son of Wayne and Zelma Thom. “It’s great to be back in Medicine Lodge,” he said. He’s directed a few plays in Medicine during that time and will undoubtedly direct more.