String up the bunting and let loose the fireworks!  It’s 2017, and Master Mystery Productions is gearing up for our biggest season of interactive shows yet!  With inspirations as widespread as Western ghost towns, the boulevards of Paris, and legendary cat burglars, 2017 is our most eclectic year.  We can’t wait to share what we have in store.

MURDER AT THE BROKEN HEART MINE

Back in the 1800’s, in the silver-studded hills of Southern California, Stardust City was a boomtown named after its richest provider, the Stardust Mine.  But soon the silver dried up, the miners moved on, and the mine got renamed the Broken Heart Mine, “because your heart was sure to be broken if you tried to mine it.”  Stardust City became a ghost town for over a hundred years until it was refurbished into a historical Wild West park.  To drum up business, the Stardust City Ghost Town holds a Valentine’s Day celebration, encouraging couples to strike it rich in their museums, restaurants, shops, and shows.  One couple makes an unlucky strike when a skeleton is unearthed in the “Tunnel of Love” mine shaft.  And when the bones show signs of murder, the luck continues to dry up.  Whose bones are they?  Why are they found in the mine?  What connection do they have with a television show, an unsolved disappearance, and a stolen treasure?  Saddle up, ladies and gents, for a story of greed, love, passion, and a murder most Western.

Over a delicious meal at Hodel’s Country Dining, guests will get to examine evidence, interrogate a shadowy panel of suspects, and study specially-designed documents to help them unearth the truth behind these buried bones.  Murder at the Broken Heart Mine premieres Saturday, February 11, 2017 at 6 p.m. at Hodel’s Country Dining in Bakersfield, California.  Tickets and ticketing info is found here: http://writersofkern.com/events/writers-kern-invites-murder-mystery-dinner/

BURY ME IN PARIS

Paris, 1924.  In the neighborhood of Montparnasse, artists, writers, and rebellious socialites lived la vie boheme in their studios and salons on the left bank of the Seine.  The most notorious of the bohemians was Chantal, the infamous “Madame Mustache.”  A liberated woman and eccentric character, Chantal has chosen to paint a mustache on her face with makeup so as not to be judged by her beauty alone.  Flitting from art to art (and lover to lover), she has been crafting her magnum opus of her highly fictionalized life story entitled Bury Me in Paris.  But someone in her fabulous inner circle has not found this story quite as charming and has taken to threatening Chantal’s life.  Who wants to bury her in Paris for good?  Join a cast of chic and suspicious artists as they share gossip, secrets, and passions in the magic of 1920’s Paris and help them solve a mystery that might make living the bohemian life a very difficult occupation.

Reuniting the team from Goodbye Hollywood and The Last Garden Party, the show will take guests to the magic, mystery, and glamour of 1920’s Paris and the suspicious and scintillating art scene of that time.  Part art show, part theater, all exquisite…Bury Me in Paris will make the City of Lights even more unforgettable.  Bury Me in Paris will be March 25, March 31, April 1, and April 8 at 7 p.m. at My Enchanted Cottage and Tea Room in Ridgecrest, California.  Audition info for actors found here: https://mastermysteryproductions.com/2016/12/29/auditions-for-bury-me-in-paris/

ANONYMOUS

In a new departure for Master Mystery Productions, Anonymous will tell the tale of a legendary cat burglar by the same name, who has stolen a priceless manuscript and hidden it and the secrets it contains inside a neighborhood bookstore.  A special task force has been assembled to help locate the valuable book, and the audience will become members of this task force in an after-hours adventure to help crack the code Anonymous left behind.  The code is supposed to lead to the missing manuscript…but as the guests explore the nooks and crannies behind the bookshelves, strange conspiracies start to grow.  Is Anonymous really the villain here?  Or is it too soon to judge a book by its cover?

One part scavenger hunt, one part exploratory theatre, Anonymous breaks all the rules of traditional interactive mystery and lets the audience build their own tale of deception and discovery as they explore the secret hideaways of a bookstore and eavesdrop and code break their way to the truth.  Anonymous is set to premiere on August 19, 2017 at Red Rock Books in Ridgecrest, California.  Auditions will be in May.

 

And there are even more opportunities to enjoy a Mastery Mystery Production in 2017!

In summer, we hope to launch our first ever mystery podcast show in the style of the old radio shows from the 1930’s.  Imagine the new millenium’s version of Ellery Queen and his armchair detectives.  So keep an eye out for that!

In September, C. R. Rowenson, a frequent Master Mystery Production collaborator, will be going solo as he writes his own interactive mystery for Weird Weekend 2017 from Ridge Writers.  The show is set to premiere on Saturday, September 23, 2017.

And in October, Master Mystery Productions returns to its roots for our 16th show as we travel to Bakersfield to do an interactive mystery for the Red Hat Ladies of Bakersfield who were our very first clients all the way back in 2013 with Murder at the Red Fez!

In short, 2017 proves to be a very active year for Master Mystery Productions.  We are so excited to share all of our hard work and devious designs throughout California!  If you are interested in having a custom-designed Master Mystery Production for yourself, click on Book A Show to contact us for more information!

Happy New Year!  Let’s start sleuthing!

–Master Mystery Productions