“Murder Can Be Habit-Forming” is the fall play to be performed at the North Allegheny Intermediate High School auditorium on Cumberland Road.
Performances are scheduled for 7 p.m. Oct. 24 and at 2 and 7 p.m. Oct. 26. A Senior Citizen’s/GOLD Card performance is at 3:30 p.m. Oct. 23.
The play, written by Billy St. John, features 16 cast members and seven students on the stage crew, according to Bryan Kiggins, NA school counselor and staff adviser to the production. He’s joined by fellow NA counselor Maddie Lewis.
Lead roles include Clare White as the Rev. Mother Superior Mary Ceclia, Sophia Campos as Mary Bishop and Hope Myers as Lt. Patricia McDougal, all freshmen. The play is student-directed.
The story revolves a busload of passengers stranded by a blizzard in upstate New York, where they find their way to an old mansion in the woods, now St. Mary’s Convent. Mother Superior Mary Cecilia them lodging for the night.
But she soon realizes her guests likely include a serial killer known as the Mary Murderer, whose victims are all named Mary, according to a play description from Kiggins.
“Murder Can Be Habit-Forming” is described as a “lighthearted mystery-comedy.”
“This year, the students have done a tremendous job with this fun play. It is a very young cast, and they have taken direction well and have been dedicated to making this play a success,” Kiggins said.
The NAI fall play will be submitted to be judged for the 2024-25 Prime Theater High School Drama Awards in Pittsburgh, which recognizes student-run high school productions for their work on stage and behind the scenes, he said.