<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/10/1603139852218.jpeg" alt="Photo courtesy WaKeeney Public Library" />
 <figcaption>Photo courtesy WaKeeney Public Library</figcaption>
 </figure>SubmittedWAKEENEY — As a Halloween treat, WaKeeney Public Library will sponsor a free performance of&nbsp;Murder at the Wolf Hotel&nbsp;on Sunday, October 25, at 1 p.m. at Jake &amp; Chet’s Café,&nbsp;233 S. 1st Street in WaKeeney.&nbsp; The show is open to customers who have already come for lunch and also to members of the community who just want to see the show.&nbsp; All audience members will enjoy a free dessert and coffee, tea or soda, compliments of the Library.&nbsp;&nbsp;When Chris McCord, owner of the Historic Wolf Hotel in Ellinwood, KS called performing artist Brett Crandall, it didn’t take long for the two to realize they have a lot in common. They are both passionate entrepreneurs. Both have very big ideas. But the two also share a unique, personal drive to showcase the wholesome, yet gritty charm of the Sunflower State to the world.&nbsp; After a brief meeting and tour of the well-preserved landmark, Crandall began to piece together a comedy riddled with crimes inspired by&nbsp;Ellinwood’s colorful history.&nbsp;&nbsp;The result was&nbsp;Murder at the Wolf Hotel, a new interactive murder-mystery play in which a bumbling detective sleuths out which of the suspects, volunteers from the audience, is guilty.&nbsp;&nbsp;Brett Crandall is an actor, writer, producer and puppeteer who received his formal acting training at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York.&nbsp; He then appeared in plays in New York as well as in tours of children’s shows with the Traveling Lantern Theatre&nbsp;Company in the Northeast.&nbsp;&nbsp;He played multiple characters in&nbsp;Robin Hood, Pinocchio,&nbsp;A Christmas Carol, and&nbsp;The Caterpillar Hunter&nbsp;forlibraries and elementary schools.&nbsp;A few years ago, Brett created his own production company, Brett Crandall Studios, to bring “performance opportunities for both artists and audiences” to different parts of the country.&nbsp;&nbsp;His recent productions include&nbsp;The Wizard of Oz, Oliver Twist, and&nbsp;A Christmas Carol.&nbsp;&nbsp;For this new original play, inspired by Kansas history during the Prohibition Era, Crandall researched the town of Ellinwood.&nbsp; It was originally a stop along the Santa Fe Trail and attracted many German and Austrian immigrants.&nbsp; It expanded as a popular rest station for cowboys on the Cox Cattle Trail with up to eleven saloons by the turn of the century in an&nbsp;underground complex of barber shops, blacksmith shops, brothels and other stores built under the town’s main streets.&nbsp; “The Underground” is now a tourist destination along with the refurbished Wolf Hotel.&nbsp;&nbsp;Since its debut,&nbsp;the play&nbsp;has been performed in Satanta, Garden City, Lawrence, Liberal, and Crandall’s hometown of Deerfield.&nbsp; Crandall explains one of his goals is to shed light on the lives of disenfranchised Kansans of the past, such as interracial and LGBTQ+ couples, by offering a diverse representation and historical context left out of the history books.&nbsp; He hopes to “dispel myths about what minorities experienced 100 years ago and may still experience today.”Murder at the Wolf Hotel&nbsp;will be performed in the lounge area and side room at Jake &amp; Chet’s Cafe which has plenty of atmosphere to evoke the hotel speakeasy setting.&nbsp; There is also room for spacing of tables and groups to observe the social distancing and precautions for Covid-19 that is already the norm at the restaurant.&nbsp;&nbsp; The Library will also be offering free face masks, hand sanitizer, and cool door prizes for attendees.For more information, contact the Library at 785-743-2960.&nbsp;&nbsp;To book a stay at The Historic Wolf Hotel, visit&nbsp;<a href="http://historicwolfhotel.com/">historicwolfhotel.com</a>. To learn more about Brett Crandall Studios, visit&nbsp;<a href="http://brettcrandallstudios.com/">BrettCrandallStudios.com</a>.&nbsp; The WaKeeney Public Library website is:&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="http://wakeeney.nwkls.org/">wakeeney.nwkls.org</a>.

WaKeeney library sponsors free showing of 'Murder at the Wolf Hotel'