On Saturday evening, March 1, a group of Sun City residents headed to Huntley Park District’s Cosman Theater. The women wore poodle skirts and blouses with chiffon neck scarves, bobby socks, saddle shoes, and cat-eye glasses. Some were in Grease-inspired costumes; men in black attire, and women sporting pink lady jackets. Some wore their favorite bowling shirt with slacks, saddle shoes, or penny loafers. A few were sporting high school sweaters with earned letters.
Parsla Gagainis, Sun City resident, said, “I loved seeing everyone get into the spirit of the evening by wearing iconic costumes of the ‘50s era. My pink lady jacket was homage to the pink ladies in Grease. The poodle-skirted ladies were really awesome.”
The prom night murder mystery was a resounding success, with the class president’s untimely demise adding an unexpected twist. Then, the guests were challenged to solve the mystery.
Selected guests were characters in the plot and identified with a name tag. They received a book to share clues with the guests when asked.
Along with the students, a principal was in attendance, who warned, “There will be no necking tonight.” A nurse was also present, as was the school’s football quarterback, a history teacher and his son, a nerd, and others. These were all identified as the suspects.
Susan Pacione, a member of Sun City’s Theatre group and a cast member in the upcoming production of Mame, said, “It was great fun to attend the Murder Mystery Dinner. It’s even better to be chosen as a suspect. As Ivanna Liv, little did I know I would be the next victim.”
Robin Chambers said, “It was a wonderful event. Seeing how things played out and the twists and turns was fascinating. I was the only one at our table who thought the history teacher was the murderer. I was outnumbered. As an adult, he could better connive and plot the murder. The other kids had motives and anger but wouldn’t follow through on murder. I can certainly say that I was shocked that the murderer was at our table.”
The event included a silent auction. Proceeds from the auction will support the Rotary Club of Huntley and include scholarships for Huntley High School students. All items were donated.
Uszler said, “Special thanks to all our sponsors and donors who helped make it a success.”
Community businesses supported the event with generous donations. This year, Sun City residents donated generously. Sun City Woodchucks donated finely crafted wooden pieces, including trays, cutting boards, boxes, plates, and bowls. The pieces were admired by the winners. Members from the Woodchucks who generously donated were Mike Shortridge, John Sterling, Tony Milonzi, Howard Hoyt, Dave Shadle, Paul Nowak, Andy Jones, and Kurt Hetzel.
Shortridge said, “We were happy to support the Rotary Club with our donations. The pieces are handmade by our members but are more than functional. They are creating art; it’s functional art. We are proud of the generosity of these individuals who donated their art pieces.”
Shortridge’s wife, Mary, shares her husband’s generosity and creativity. Mary donated a beautiful ceramic bowl with a scalloped design and shimmered glaze. The bowl drew admiration from the attendees. Other Clayground members donated their time and talent to create stunning pieces. Richard Christie, a long-time talented artist in the Clayground Club, donated three beautiful sculpted pieces of women. Elaine Kadakai, a gifted artist who creates ceramics and sculptures, donated some pieces. Her work has been featured in exhibits at McHenry County College.
Karen Levkulich, a talented resident in many arts, donated a variety of beautiful handcrafted scarves, mittens, headbands, and hats.
James Uszler, a Sun City resident and Rotary Club member, said, “We had a great time, too. The actors were top-notch, and the interaction with the 54 people in the room was outstanding. Six audience members joined in as suspects, and they rocked their acting debut.”
