AACT NewPlayFest World Premiere of The Café Mocha Murders, by Deanna Strasse will open March 25, 2022 at Golden Chain Theatre in Oakhurst, California. The production will run through April 10, 2022.

Founded in 1967 as a summer melodrama troupe, Golden Chain Theatre is a thriving nonprofit community theatre located in Oakhurst, California—not far from Yosemite National Park. In 1972, founding board members each put up their own homes as collateral in order to purchase what had been a bowling alley, and convert it into a theatre. In 1999, the mortgage was fully paid, and Golden Chain Theatre now owns its facility, outright. Today, the theatre strives to present a wide variety of qual­ity live entertainment, promote fine arts education, and continue making a vibrant contribution to the community’s economy, cul­ture, and spirit. Golden Chain Theatre presents a season of between five and seven productions each year. Programming also includes the Jr. Players youth performance troupe, ENCORE! for advanced youth performers; a legacy of 54 consecutive years of Summer Melodrama and Traveling Troupe; a reader’s theatre senior performance group; both children and teens summer workshops; and a School of Performing Arts that provides personal instruction in vocal and instrumental music.

Tickets are available at goldenchaintheatre.org or by calling the box office at 559-683-7112.

In The Café Mocha Murders, despite the raging storm outside, it seems like a perfectly normal night for an employee meeting at the local coffee shop, The Bean Shack. That is until the lights go out, and someone winds up dead. In this over-the-top whodunit, it’s all about latte art, caffeine content, and the imminent threat of death.

Jennifer Janine directs Golden Chain Theatre’s world premiere production of The Café Mocha Murders. The cast features Cassie Longcor, Jason Walle, Nick Bubb, Janet Johnson, Kaley Marsh, Shannon Brewington, Paige Ferbrache, Ayden Simonich, and Adam Greenwood.  The production crew includes Assistant Director Jennifer Olsen; Costumer Miranda Simonich; scenic design by James Mierkey, Jennifer Janine, and Miranda Simonich; technical design by James Mierkey; assistant to the directors, Allyson Ferbrache; stage management by Grace Mierkey; sound by Donovan Rich; lights and fx by Lanie Suderman; set construction by Matt Van De Wal, Josh Olsen, Terry Walter, Nick Bubb, Shawn Simonich, and Michael Van Buren; and dramaturgy by Kathy Pingel.

For more information on AACT NewPlayFest 2022, visit AACT NewPlayFest 2022: Playwrights and Productions.

The AACT NewPlayFest world premiere production of The Cafe´ Mocha Murders, by Deanna Strasse, at Golden Chain Theatre is made possible in part by a grant from the Jack K. Ayre and Frank Ayre Lee Theatre Foundation.