The Tamarindo Theater Project, in Santa Cruz (Guanacaste), will show the work “Dying for Chocolate”, on January 19 in an interactive dinner with a mystery show that will take place at TRÍO, the main events center in the heart of the community.
The show is directed by the husband and wife team of Stephen and Kristen Francés with performances by: Lizzie Gunton-Bunn, Kenny Rojas, Belén Rodríguez along with stage director Peyton Vaughn and costume designer Jacqueline Carsman.Doors will open at 5 p.m., when guests can begin enjoying specialty chocolates from Reina Chocolates and chocolate-themed beers on tap from BoA Brewery.
As for the show, the audience will discover that they are all guests of Cherish Chocolate, an elegant chocolate company run by the flamboyant Coco Caramel, while Coco and company try to meet the new face of their “Slow Death” line of chocolates. The three-course themed dinner will be a celebration of all things chocolate, with tastings and treats!
However, during the staging not everything is as delicious as it seems at Cherish Chocolate, as Coco competes fiercely with her health food rival Roy Bean, the Algarrobo Cowboy. When he shows up uninvited, tempers flare, an international jewelry smuggling operation is revealed, and a murder turns the event into a crime scene. When the police don’t respond, the public is tasked with solving the crime!
During the evening, in addition to Coco and Cowboy, guests will meet Crème Caramel, Coco’s cousin and brain of the business; Vanilla Ripple, Cherish QC, who seems too attached to the company; Roxanne, a performance artist who has always been a disappointment to her family; plastic surgeon and international jet-setter Doc Hoover; and Gunther Legume, owner of the jewelry store ‘The Family Jewels’, who searches during the event for the “Hopeless Diamond” which was stolen.
More cultural projects
The Tamarindo Theater project and its alliance with TRIO, is the first step of an initiative to promote the growth of art and culture in Tamarindo and its surroundings, in order to expand the offer of attractions for national and foreign visitors.
“We have designed a high-quality staging, taking maximum care of all the details. Our goal is to turn Tamarindo into a benchmark for combining traditional beach tourism with a broader culture, in this case related to the world of theater, which we are sure will be very popular,” said Stephen French.
Stephen and Kristen French, natives of Alabama, United States, combine more than 30 years of performing and teaching professionally. They have the desire to apply their experience in Tamarindo in an effort to promote the dissemination of the art of staging throughout the Guanacaste region.
The Tamarindo Theater Project was created with the idea of promoting the arts in the community through education, collaboration and production, including various formats and styles of theater. Furthermore, as part of the initiative, the Guanacasteco Youth Theater was born with the conviction that theater is a fundamental part of a comprehensive education since it teaches empathy, trust, teamwork and essential communication skills. We are very grateful to have found in TRÍO an ally who shares our same goals and ways of thinking,” said Stephen French.
Lots of participation
The first of its kind in the Tamarindo area, Dying for Chocolate is designed as an interactive experience show for the audience giving them the unique opportunity to talk to the actors during the show to discover the final outcome of the plot.
“The audience will sit at tables set up for a theater-in-the-round where actors will exchange impressions with the audience, ask questions, debate the identity of the killer and other details,” said Stephen French.
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