BRMS To Present Comedy Murder Mystery 'Murder at Aunt Agatha’s'

BRIDGEWATER, NJ — Bridgewater-Raritan Middle School students are currently practicing for the middle school’s production of "Murder at Aunt Agatha’s," a comedy murder mystery that was written by Teresa and David Hockman.

The play will be staged on Friday, Nov.17, at the middle school’s auditorium.

Olivia Matko, who is the 7th Grade Theater Arts Teacher at the middle school, is the production’s co-director with Carla Fernandez, who is an 8th Grade English Language Arts teacher at the middle school.

And Matko has the legendary writer Agatha Christie in her thoughts while she watches the middle school students rehearse daily after school for this suspenseful but hilarious presentation.

"This play has been so fun to direct," Matko said. "I enjoy reading Agatha Christie so it has been interesting to think of how she would stage this mystery."

The English-born Christie gained worldwide fame for her 66 detective novels and 14 short
story collections she crafted before her death in 1976.

According to Pioneer Drama Service, which is a publisher of plays and musicals at schools, "Murder at Aunt Agatha’s," is a comedy murder mystery that doesn’t take itself too seriously, even as the dearly departed Aunt Agatha’s nieces and nephews have gathered at her mansion to hear the reading of her will.

As the lawyer begins, there’s more greed than grief permeating the room, which is perhaps why Aunt Agatha stipulated that anyone wanting a share of her money must first survive the night in her house. Too bad she forgot to mention there would be ghosts! But as one family member after another is murdered throughout the night, this almost feels more like an Agatha Christie mystery. Luckily, Detective Sam Club arrives to help find the killer, and he certainly doesn’t believe in ghosts.

Matko has shared a sense of confidence as the night of the performance approaches.

"It is shaping up to be a great play with a fabulous cast and crew," said Matko, who is the Drama Club and Musical Advisor for the middle school.

She credited the relationships that her student actors and stage crew created that has produced a camaraderie type of feeling, one that will only boost their presentation.

"It is always such a pleasure to see students who are strangers at the beginning of the year turn into family by November. We have such a sweet cast, and what I am most impressed with, is their teamwork and the support they give each other," Matko said.

Sahib Bal, an 8th Grader who is portraying one of the play’s leading characters, Detective Sam Club, reflects Matko’s beliefs.

"I like my part a lot because I have a lot of lines," Sahib said. "But I also like it because I am with my best friend a lot, Patrick Abdelmaseeh."

Patrick is playing the role of one of Aunt Agatha’s nephews, Reggie VanVleet.

To enjoy this comedy and the performances of the student actors and stage members, the curtains will open at 7 p.m. on Nov. 17. The admission is $5, but free to anyone 65 years or older or 5 years or younger. Doors to the auditorium will open at 6:30 p.m.

"Theater people are the best people," Matko concluded.

Here is the roster of the middle school students who will bring you the production of "Murder at Aunt Agatha’s."

• Sahib Bal- Sam Club
• Patrick Abdelmaseeh- Reggie VanVleet
• Sharanya Bhiwapurkar- Rose
• Olivia Tang- Mrs. McSwine
• Adwita Singh- Bridgette
• Michaela Opalenik- Hildegarde
• Tilly Madhusoodanan- Gina Starlett
• Maura Donahue- Alexandra VanVleet
• Jamie Byun- Maxie
• Kyle Johnson- Mr. Earl
• Angie Yang- Mrs. Earl
• Noelle Sapp- Willima Cleanyou
• Sharon Javadala- Mrs. VanVleet
• Zoe Weinstein- Angie Mae
• Sophie White- Becky Lou
• Cassidy Caruthers- Bobby Sue
• Anneliese Redler- Earlene
• Shaant Sachdeva- Earl Jr
• Kyle Sen- Aunt Agatha
• Hailey Baron- Ghost Ensemble
• Charlotte Dixon - Ghost Ensemble
• Madison Mattis - Ghost Ensemble
• Anne Siy - Ghost Ensemble
• Dara Wolff - Ghost Ensemble
• Sofia Green - Ghost Ensemble
• Agil Dinesh - Ghost Ensemble
• Devin Patel- Student Director
• Jesse Jaggi- Student Director
• Vicki Huang- Stage Crew
• Leena Abdelghany - Stage Crew
• Satvik Kosaraju - Stage Crew
• Aina Carbonell - Stage Crew
• Samhita Subramanian - Stage Crew
• Justin Schmidt - Stage Crew
• Aidan Tsai - Stage Crew
• Julia Li - Stage Crew
• Juliana DeJesus - Stage Crew
• Lourdes Pe - Stage Crew
• Jeremy Kursar - Stage Crew
• Aria Mahajan - Stage Crew
• Emily Vetro - Stage Crew
• Ishaan Singh - Stage Crew
• Melanie Martinetti - Stage Crew
• Sophia Ava Halili - Stage Crew
• Matthew Lopez - Stage Crew
• Ananya Sarode - Stage Crew
• Sebastian Perez - Stage Crew
• Jaiden W-Lopez - Stage Crew
• Julia Nekram - Stage Crew
• Kate Hinton- Stage Manager
• Parvathy Regi- Stage Manager
• Varnika Kirthi- Assistant Stage Manager