Who Stole Pepe, the Poodle?
Mystery Dinner Theatre
Fundraiser Summary Report

We ended 2006 on December 2 nd with a mystery dinner theatre fundraiser called, “Who Stole Pepe, the Poodle?” It was a smashing success with a packed house of over 200 in attendance. We gave away over 20 door prizes that were donated by area restaurants and shops.

Everyone raved about the good food and the play, saying they had the best time out in a long while. Many went so far as to want to know when the next play would be and several even said they would purchase tickets now.

The play was the inspiration of Marilyn Marinelli, the president of Have A Heart, who was also the director of the play. She wrote the script as a fun project; never thinking it would be performed. Then John, her husband, suggested the idea of using it as a fundraiser and showed it to the Moose Lodge, who was looking for community support projects. They jumped on the idea and off it went…He became the executive producer and he and Marilyn began the process pf organizing press releases, casting calls, 3 ½ months of weekly rehearsals, set designs, sound checks, lighting, ticket sales and all the other aspects of a community theatre. The play was born.

We pulled actors from the Moose Lodge, the Community Theatre and the local area. We went through one waiter, one butler and two-step sons before solidifying the final cast. We had a rag-tag group as diverse as any could be, from senior citizen to high school student and retired to a professional trial lawyer. From experienced to 1 st time ever acting. But they all pulled together to bring the script alive, to the cheers and laughter of all who attended.

The play netted close to $1500 plus raising a huge amount of donated dog and cat food that was given to two local rescue groups. The revenue stream included ticket sales, 50/50 drawing, and a special offering taken up during the event.

The play will be made available to any group who wants to use it for a fundraiser for a small performance royalty. If you are interested, contact John Marinelli at 352-687-4070. Don’t forget to view the pictures taken at the dress rehearsal.