May 12, 2008 By Lori Ann Goodwin 2 min read

Last month, Spin It’s very own food aficionado Jennifer Harr ventured into the realm of acting when she graced the stage of the Geyer Performing Arts Center in Scottdale in a production of “The Cold Man,” written by Fayette County native Mark Hofmann. Now Jen and the cast will be stepping into their roles once again as Hofmann has written a new play continuing the saga of the main character Roy Stargess.

“Stargess Goes to Hollywood” tracks the continuing story of detective turned script consultant Roy Stargess.

At the close of “The Cold Man,” Stargess used his drunken detective skills to free a man who was wrongly imprisoned for murder. He wrote a book chronicling his use of booze to unlock his inner Monk. “The Cold Man,” Stargess’ tale, has since been bought by Hollywood producers – and with no mystery to solve, Stargess has hopped onto the wagon and hung up his shot glass.

Although Stargess lobbied to play himself into the tale, he found himself turned away, and is stuck as a script consultant on the movie. He finds that the consultant is the lowliest form of Hollywood underling, as he is ignored and shut out of the filming. Sobriety and healthy living, he quickly finds, are not for him in the Land of Fruit and Nuts (LA) when the character playing him in the movie winds up murdered on the set.

With the gusto of Malkin heading for the net during a playoff game, Stargess uses the actor’s death as a reason to befriend the bottle once again – to help him solve the case, of course. The play chronicles Stargess’ relationship with his personal assistant, Penny Jacey – and his attempts to figure out if she’s his assistant or his girlfriend. He also runs into his arch nemises, Roma Diaz, who has written a book about Stargess investigation in “The Cold Man.” Her coffee table pop-up book, “Mr. Big Ears and Me,” is about the death of her father and dog (Mr. Big Ears) and her time in the state prison.

Harr said her character, Roma Diaz, is an airhead as she was in “The Cold man.”

“She attempts to extract some revenge on Stargess by stealing his thunder with her own book,” she said.

“Stargess Goes to Hollywood” will be performed May 16-18 at the Geyer Performing Arts Center in Scottdale.