Murder mystery meets comedy when an American tour bus breaks down in front of a mysterious and ghostly manor in The Leeward Theatre’s A Dark and Stormy Knight, showing November 12, 13, 14, 19, 20 and 21 at 8 p.m. Directed by Betty Burdick, the Leeward Community College show is sure to take audiences through a strange and hysterical journey.
A Dark and Stormy Knight is a farcical take on the murder mystery genre. When Becky Hagswater, an American Tour Guide in the Upper Highlands of Scotland has her bus break down in front of spooky old Heelancoopoo Manor (ancestral home to the Peasantjabber family), strange things begin to happen.
The American tourists and Becky have arrived on the night when the “Peasantjabber Curse” is visited upon all who share the bloodline. This is the night when all Peasantjabbers go mad! So what is left of the family gather together to hide their night of madness from the outside world. Just when things can’t seem to get any weirder, someone starts murdering the Peasantjabbers! This is a murder mystery where murder and mystery take a back seat to wacky situation and silly characters.
About the director
Director Betty Burdick has more than forty years of experience as an actor, performing all over the country, including Seattle, Minneapolis/St. Paul and New York. While acting on the mainland, Burdick coached professional actors and held seminars in Character Movement for the Actor. In 1995, she returned to Honolulu after an absence of 30 years to receive a master of fine arts in directing from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa while teaching beginning acting and acting technique there.
At Mānoa Valley Theatre she has performed in To Kill a Mockingbird, Deathtrap, Wit (Poʻokela Award) and A Little Night Music. For The Actors’ Group Burdick has performed in Talking With, The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds, Boston Marriage and Happy Days (Poʻokela Award) by Samuel Beckett. For the Hawaii Shakespeare Festival, Burdick has played Leonata in Much Ado About Nothing, The Cardinal in King John, and Pistol in an all female version of Henry V.
Her directing credits include work at the University of Hawaiʻi, Mānoa Valley Theatre, Kumu Kahua Theatre and Honolulu Theatre for Youth. She has received Poʻokela Awards for directing Fully Committed, The Christmas Carol, and Dividing the Estate at Mānoa Valley Theatre.
Burdick has taught drama classes at Leeward CC since 1999 and is currently the discipline head for theatre. She also directed Oedipus the King, Sandbox, Clockwork, Twelfth Night and Titus Andronicus (Poʻokela Award) for The Leeward Theatre.
Show information
A Dark and Stormy Knight will show on November 12, 13, 14, 19, 20 and 21, at 8 p.m. on The Leeward Theatre’s main stage.
Tickets will be available at the door through the theatre’s box office at 7 p.m. (1 hour before show time). The theatre is currently switching to a new ticketing program, so presale tickets are not available at this time. Please call the box office at (808) 455-0385 for ticket questions.
Ticket prices
- $25 general admission
- $20 seniors, UH System students, military and UH faculty and staff
- $15 Leeward students and children under 18
For more information, visit The Leeward Theatre website.