Wilcox Stage Company presents The Single Man as their fall production, a murder mystery play with a touch of romance.

Wilcox Stage Company is made up of the Theatre Productions class as well as volunteers at Wilcox. The Theatre Productions class consists of a variety of different teams; costumes & makeup, lights & sound, deck crew, sets, and publicity. These teams combine their efforts to produce two productions each year; one for the fall and one for the spring. 

While Wilcox Stage Company is mostly made up of the Theatre Productions class, volunteers are also encouraged to help out. Whether it be as an usher for the show, building sets, or doing hair and makeup, WSC welcomes people of different talents to assist. Volunteers are encouraged to assist as the production proceeds to become closer to the show dates.

This year, the fall production will be a play called The Single Man, a spoof on the reality television show The Bachelor with a murder mystery twist. The Single Man will have two performances, one on December 1st and the other on December 2nd, both at 7 pm. Both performances will be hosted at the Mission City Center for Performing Arts.

The play arrives during an unfortunate lack of enrollment that Theatre Productions is currently facing. A class of nine students, Theatre Productions’ numbers have significantly decreased compared to previous years. One reason could be the decrease in enrollment to Wilcox in general, as less and less students are enrolling to the school each year. Another is that students aren’t aware of the different activities that Theatre Productions has to offer. In either case, as the number of students for the class continues to decrease, the functionality of the class might become more and more difficult. When asked if the class’ functioning had increased in difficulty, Aleiah Aikens (12) replied, “So far, this year’s been going really smoothly. It’s a smaller class, but we’re really all passionate about what we’re doing, so we really haven’t had any problems so far.” As she said, the low count has not deterred the students, who are working hard to produce two plays this year. 

The play they are currently working on is their fall production; The Single Man. The Single Man will make its debut in early December, meaning the cast and crew will be working through the fall to put this show together. “We’re in the early stages,” Aleiah explained. “No difficulties production-wise so far, but there’s always things that come up and we always get through them. So I’m confident that this show will be great.”

The plot of the fall show, The Single Man, will follow Henri Poisson, a suave detective, who takes the place of the terrified bachelor on the reality television show, The Single Man, after a death threat is discovered. The murderer is hiding amongst the eight women competing for Poisson’s attention, and Poisson must uncover the murderer before it’s too late. The Single Man falls into three genres; mystery, comedy, and romance. 

For mystery lovers, The Single Man is a murder mystery full of unexpected twists and turns that will keep you on the edge of your seat. In its comedic aspect, the show has plenty of funny moments to keep you entertained. And for those who like romance, the play (as said previously) parodies the reality television show The Bachelor. The Single Man is definitely a fun show that will keep the audience’s attention captured. As mentioned above, the performance dates will be December 1st and 2nd at 7 pm, hosted at the Mission City Center for Performing Arts.