St. Mary Catholic Central first school to perform 'The Bluff,' a musical comedy with roots at Sacred Heart Major Seminary
MONROE — For Chris Knudsen, choir teacher and director of the theater program at St. Mary Catholic Central (SMCC) High School in Monroe, choosing “The Bluff” as this year’s musical was risky. Having done well-known titles like “Fiddler on the Roof” and “The Sound of Music” in 2023 and 2024, Knudsen went with his gut and selected a musical that had only been performed once before, at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit.
The murder-mystery-comedy made its world premiere on the Sacred Heart stage last year. Co-written by then-Deacon Steven Caraher — now-Fr. Steven Caraher of the Diocese of Gary — Fr. Caraher began writing the musical 10 years ago with Matt Kresich, Scott Peters, and George Jurincie, friends from home in Indiana. The four dusted off the script during the COVID-19 pandemic and polished it until its debut last March at Sacred Heart.
A cast of more than 20 Sacred Heart seminarians, a female faculty member and a commuter student rehearsed diligently to fulfill Fr. Caraher’s and his friends’ dream of seeing the show performed in front of an audience.
“The Bluff” tells the story of Dexter Dull Jr., a young man who wants to become a world-renowned detective like his father. As Dexter attempts to prove himself by solving a murder case in a single night without the help of his father, the scenes unfold with twists, turns and memorable characters.
From seminary stage to high school stage
When the show debuted at Sacred Heart last March, its catchy songs and hilarious dialogue got people talking, one of whom was Knudsen’s wife, who attended the first of two performances of “The Bluff” at Sacred Heart. She immediately told Knudsen he needed to bring the musical to the SMCC stage in 2025.
Knudsen saw it himself the next night and gave it five stars. He reached out to Fr. Caraher and Kresich to find out whether it would be possible to bring “The Bluff” to his high school theater students. Knudsen and his two assistant directors reviewed the script and listened to the music.
“Once they heard they music, they were in. And when they learned it was co-written by a priest and the seminary had done it, they were even more on board,” Knudsen said. “We loved that it’s a murder mystery that’s also a musical and a comedy. And it was appealing that we’d be the second group ever to do it, and that we could work with the writers and meet the cast. You typically don’t get those things in a high school show.”
Fr. Caraher and his co-creators were thrilled at the idea of “The Bluff” being performed by St. Mary Catholic Central students.
“We were floored that someone else was interested in doing it. It was euphoric for all of us when we got the news,” Fr. Caraher said. “We had thought if someone else sees it and, God-willing, wants to perform it, maybe it could have a life outside of Sacred Heart, but we were content if it ended there.”
While the seminary has trouble finding scripts that can accommodate its need for an all-male cast, SMCC typically contends with a nearly opposite dilemma: mostly girls audition for their shows. Working with Kresich, Knudsen quickly and easily adapted some of the male roles to female, and even found a way to include a large kids chorus with students from Monroe Catholic Elementary Schools.
The SMCC students who auditioned embraced the script and quickly became fans of the musical.
“When I first found out we were doing ‘The Bluff,’ I hesitated because I wasn’t familiar with it. But when we heard the music, that’s what really sold it for me,” said senior Elizabeth Zwack, who played the role of Alfred, the butler.
Opening night in Monroe
On opening night at the SMCC production Feb. 28, 32 seminarians from Sacred Heart — most of whom played roles in last year’s performance — descended on the River Raisin Centre for the Arts to see the show. Charles Bemiss, a seminarian for the Archdiocese of Detroit, was in the chorus for the seminary’s production.
“Though the writers may have been from out of state, Detroit was the place that brought ‘The Bluff’ to life,” Bemiss said. “To see a local Catholic high school take it on and put in the work to make it happen again brought incredible gratitude and joy to all of us who came to finally see it from the audience’s perspective.”
When the lights dimmed and the band began to play the opening notes, emotions ran high for Bemiss, Fr. Caraher and the other seminarians.
“My mind and heart were flooded with memories and emotions, and the joys and challenges that went into our first go at presenting it,” Bemiss said. “Likewise, seeing how SMCC involved so many children alongside the main cast and chorus was precious.”
At intermission, Fr. Caraher described the first half of the show as “out of this world.” He was impressed by the way SMCC had incorporated a large cast and made the show their own.
Diocese of Lansing seminarian Paul Keenan attended the SMCC show. At Sacred Heart last year, he played Alfred, the butler. After Friday’s show, he met Zwack, his counterpart in the SMCC show.
“Being there in the audience was incredibly exciting, to see this show be brought to life by another group of people,” Keenan said. “There was a real joy and a sense of pride to see these young people stepping into these roles and making them their own, and to feel that connection of being part of this special project.”
SMCC senior Noah Iott, who played the lead role of Dexter Dull Jr., was excited to be part of something new and innovative. He liked the unique blend of humor, mystery and intrigue that he hasn’t seen in other shows in which he’s been cast. He also appreciated the deeper meaning in the story.
“I enjoy that my character had aspirations to prove himself to his father; it was something that I could identify with and relate to as a teenager stepping into manhood when I deciphered the role of Dexter Dull,” Iott said. “Having past issues with self-worth, it was valuable to me to act in a show that relayed a positive message of confiding and trusting in parental figures' guidance. This relationship, I feel, has deep underlying Christian messages that added another layer of depth to this action-packed musical.”
On Saturday night, the four creators of “The Bluff” met the SMCC cast and watched the performance. Fr. Caraher attended all three shows.
“In a way, I felt more nervous to see the SMCC show than I was seeing the show at the seminary, because I went in blind not having seen any of their rehearsals,” Fr. Caraher said. “It’s like the child is walking for the first time on his own, and it’s a natural letting go. But we’re excited to bring this musical to the next wave, the next generation.”
Keenan hopes the seminarians’ presence on Friday was just as fun for the SMCC cast as it was for the 32 men.
“It was a joyful moment for us to get to experience all the hard work they put into this project that we knew so well,” Keenan said. “I didn’t attend the other performances, but I have to imagine our group of 32 seminarians was their liveliest crowd because we were eating it up.”
Will the show go on?
The creators of “The Bluff” are in talks with other theater groups that are considering bringing the show to their stages, including other Catholic schools.
“I’m deeply touched that a Catholic school did this for the first time outside the seminary. This is not only a really fun musical, but it’s also one that has a heart to it. It’s not explicitly Catholic, but there’s an implicit Catholic element to it. It speaks to the human heart that we’re all children seeking our Father’s heart, and ultimately, we don’t have to do anything for Him to love us. That’s a message for everyone. “
Knowing the story of the creators of “The Bluff” and the years they spent working to make it a viable production, Knudsen is proud his students could be part of the musical’s ongoing story.
“There’s an inordinate amount of work that goes into something like this, and for it to come to fruition at the seminary is so wonderful,” Knudsen said. “And now for our SMCC community to have done it here and be able to connect with the seminarians, I think it’s really awesome.”
On April 4 and 5, Sacred Heart will present this year’s musical, “H.M.S. Pinafore.” Knudsen hopes to take some of the SMCC cast of “The Bluff” to see the show at the seminary, the place that started it all.
