Agents…this mission, should you choose to accept it, will be one of the most secret, most complex, most original Master Mystery Productions in our history.  You will be plunged into the heart of an after-hours adventure through a bookstore where the shelves hide sinister secrets and unexpected endings.  Your mission will be to discover the truth about a master thief with the code name Anonymous.  But what you find in this adventure…may not be what you seek.  Our fourteenth Master Mystery Production will break through the fourth wall once and for all, making the audience a direct part of the story.  Through the actions of the guests, the story of Anonymous will unfold.  On August 19, 2017, this show will break all the rules.

ANONYMOUS

A stolen manuscript worth a fortune.  A legendary cat burglar with a mysterious agenda.  A secret agency with uncertain motives.  And a neighborhood bookstore that will become the final battleground…

Anonymous is a thief of unparalleled skill with an eye for the historical, the cultural, and the priceless.  And with a cunning cat-and-mouse streak.  When Anonymous steals an unpublished manuscript worth a fortune rumored to belong to a famous writer, a coded trail of clues leads to an independent bookstore with the message that the book is hidden within it.  A special task force has been assembled to help locate the valuable manuscript, and the audience will become secret agents 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?  Part scavenger hunt, part exploratory theatre, Anonymous 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 a show of firsts on many, many levels.  It’s our first show ever to be performed at Red Rock Books, one of our favorite places on the planet.  It’s the first theatrical production for many of our actors.  And it’s the first of its kind to totally break tradition with how a theatrical piece is usually performed.  Gone are the seats and the stage.  The audience will mix in with the actors on the same level, work with them in decoding the secrets of Anonymous, and eavesdrop on their superiors’ clandestine conversations.  It’s an event unlike any other at Master Mystery Productions.

With this show, we tried to take away the feeling of separation between audience and actor and bring the guests directly into the story, to have an impact on the story itself.  There are lines in the script that directly address the audience, that bring them in as characters.  The guests will build the story through clue gathering and eavesdropping.  And after a shocking turn of events in the second half of the show, guests might even find themselves having to provide an alibi.  The audience is not expected to act, but we wanted to have them included in the adventure actively rather than passively watching it happen before their eyes.

Our cast is comprised entirely of newcomers to Master Mystery Productions, which is a great deal of fun for us.  We love taking on fresh talent and teaching them all the tricks we have up our sleeves.  We’re building them from the ground up to be the super-strong, super-secret agents we want them to be for this show.  What deals go on behind the bookshelves?  Why are they so bent on catching this thief?  And who is Anonymous?  Put your ear against the closed doors and learn the truth behind this one-of-a-kind show.

Anonymous performs Saturday, August 19, 2017 at 7:30 p.m. at Red Rock Books.  Tickets are $15 each, which includes a clue booklet with a secret code for audiences to decipher to give them a leg up on the competition.  Tickets are available now at Red Rock Books.

You have been recruited to join the finest collection of secret agents for this unforgettable mission.  It’s time to pinpoint the true identity of a master thief by the code name…

ANONYMOUS!

See you at this adventure of a lifetime!

–Master Mystery Productions