In the heart of Charlotte County, where civic engagement and creativity often walk hand-in-hand, the St. Croix Theatre Company is putting on more than just a show. With its latest production, Laura Teasdale’s Murder by the Book, the community theatre troupe is blending comedy, culture, and charity in a way that’s quintessentially small-town—and powerfully resonant.
It ran from April 25 to 27 in St. Stephen at the St. Stephen Middle School and will run May 2 to 4 in St. Andrews at the WC O’Neill Theatre, the play delivers laughs and literary allusions in equal measure. But it also carries a deeper purpose: every ticket sold helps raise funds for the public libraries in both towns, vital institutions at the core of civic life in rural New Brunswick.
“We’re doing it for the libraries because they always need support,” said co-director Bert Deveau, a longtime advocate for local theatre. “They’ve got all these community programs and supplies they need to cover—this helps them keep doing that.”
Deveau describes Murder by the Book as “a comedy that takes place in a library, featuring a play within a play scenario.”
With winks to Sherlock Holmes, Miss Marple, and other literary icons, the production is as much a love letter to classic mystery fiction as it is a laugh-out-loud theatrical romp.
But the real mystery might be how a group of volunteers from across the region—St. George, St. Andrews, and St. Stephen among them—manage to pull off such an ambitious show with limited resources and a lot of heart.
“One actor plays six different characters, plus himself,” Deveau said with a chuckle, pointing to the cast’s impressive versatility.
The mix of veteran performers and first-timers creates an atmosphere of mentorship and camaraderie that feels as genuine offstage as on.
“They all work together—it’s really quite a camaraderie,” he adds. “Seasoned actors are always stepping in to help if someone forgets a line. It’s a beautiful thing to watch happen.”
Indeed, the production process itself has become a civic act: a model of collaboration, adaptability, and mutual support. Behind the scenes, rehearsals have become a space where people of all ages share stories, skills, and stage fright, building not just a play—but a community.
“There’s one guy who’s been acting since the ’90s alongside someone doing their very first role,” Deveau notes. “They find common ground and become friends. It’s incredible.”
The decision to go with a comedy was deliberate, too.
“Life is too serious right now,” DeVoe sais. “We wanted to give people something light. We don’t need a heavy drama—we need a night to laugh.”
That instinct—to read the room, so to speak—is what makes the St. Croix Theatre Company such an asset. In choosing to uplift the community through humour and by supporting public institutions like libraries, the troupe continues a proud tradition of rural theatre as both entertainment and social glue.
For Deveau, the experience has been personally enriching.
“It makes me appreciate people in a different way,” he says. “To see how much private time they give up for this, just to bring something joyful to others—it’s inspiring.”
With tickets priced at $20 and available at local outlets (Ganong Chocolatier, OK Tire and Cockburn’s Corner Drugstore) as well as at the door, the production is both accessible and purpose-driven. As the curtain prepares to rise, Deveau hopes the community will come out—not just for the laughs, but for the love of local.
“Come out and enjoy yourself,” he sais. “You’ll laugh. You’ll support your library. And you’ll see what happens when a community comes together.”
And in Charlotte County, that’s always worth the price of admission.
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