On April 17 and 18, Holmes Community College put on the Play “Death by Dessert,” directed by Holmes theater instructor Teresa Grantier. The play tells the story of Don and Donna, owners of competing restaurants that share a wall, and the death of their landlord, Mario Rossetti. While both restaurant owners and their respective employees attempt to get away with (and discover who is behind) poisoning Rossetti, the Busboy and Busgirl find love and an old family secret.

The play starts with a bloodcurdling scream and a girl running past the audience, drawing the attention of the actors to the man lying dead in front of them: Mario Rossetti. They discover that Rossetti had eaten from cake made at both restaurants and begin to argue with each other about “who dunnit.”

The play pauses as Rossetti gets up and begins to tell the story of how they got here, hoping to help the audience discover who killed him.

 Counter-clockwise from the far left, sitting on the floor: the busboy (Chandler Garrett), Louie (Rashad Perteet), Frankie (Isaiah Miller) and Nino (Lamar Land) listen to Don (Luke Johnson, in the chair) tell his version of how there came to be two nearly identical restaurants with two nearly identical names sharing a wall.

 Counter-clockwise from the far left, sitting on the floor: Nina (Emma Dorris), Francie (Anna Shelby), Louise (Alana Price) and the busgirl (Jessi Morgan) listen to Donna (Anastasia Boston, in the chair) tell her version of how there came to be two nearly identical restaurants with two nearly identical names sharing a wall.

 The busyboy (Chandler Garrett) and busgirl (Jessi Morgan) meet in secret, hiding their romance from their employers.

 Nino (Lamar Land) and Nina (Emma Dorris) argue over who stole a dessert recipe; this leads to the chocolate cake dessert-off where they find Rossetti’s body.

 Don (Luke Johnson, bottom left) and Donna (Anastasia Boston, bottom right) read Mario Rossetti’s will, which reveals that their parents, Nonno (Keith Greer, top left) and Nonna (Chandra Butler, top right), had a set of twins: Don and Donna.

 The waiter, portrayed by John Miksa, threatens and bribes Mario Rossetti (Jaylend Townsend) in order to get him to keep the secret of Don and Donna’s parentage.

 The new restaurant name is revealed when Don and Donna agree to combine them. “In the event of my death, two shall become one.”

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *