Incoming! If ever there was a family as tumultuous as a desert dust devil, it would be the Morgensterns. On their whirlwind vacation through the Mojave Desert and Death Valley, they bring their own spiraling drama and family dynamics both silly and suspicious. Who are they? What brings them to the desert? Some answers are revealed in the show, but here’s a little taste of what makes the Morgensterns tick, along with the thoughts of their actors bringing them to life.

THE FAMILY THAT VACATIONS TOGETHER: The Making of Tourist Trap (Part 1)

Meet Bob Morgenstern. You ever hear the one about the henpecked father in Hawaiian print taking his family (plus a crazy sister-in-law) in his beat-up old van to Death Valley for a vacation? He was DEAD tired of them by the end. And they were dead tired of his dad jokes too after hundreds of miles on the road. And another thing…he’s dead serious that no one should touch the luggage except him.

Tristan Risden makes his MMP stage debut in Tourist Trap but has been working behind the scenes on several recent stage productions. He worked backstage and on tech for CLOTA’s 2022 production of Witness for the Prosecution. For Tete-a-Tete, he served as the Stage Manager and the Lighting Designer. In The Sky’s the Limit, he was a Technical Director, Set Designer, and the Lighting Designer and Operator. Here’s what Tristan thinks about Bob and how he created him onstage:

“Bob is a hard headed and stubborn individual who doesn’t seem to rely on his intelligence as much as he does his strength and whatever idea comes to mind first. He doesn’t take kindly to being told off by Karen and her over planning control freak self, Della’s psycho mumbo jumbo, and his kids constant back-sass. I pull inspiration for my character from the dad in F is for Family, Frank Murphy, Bob from Bob’s Burgers, and just pulling from general comedic interpretations of an overworked and annoyed dad. Bob is not one to admit his wrong doings and quicker to shovel the duty, and possible blame, off to others to not incur Karen’s potential wrath upon him, despite caring for her quite a bit he finds himself at odds with her on multiple occasions including her sister. Della however he would gladly abandon on the side of the road and that’s not including stopping the car to let her get out, he cannot stand her made up beliefs or the way she acts, driving him up the wall to the point he cant take it anymore and lets Karen know exactly how he feels about her. His kids are another story, while he may question why he had them or brought them along on this trip if all they’d do is complain, backsas, and want to drive their mom crazy, he does care about his kids and wants to help them, they just have a bad habit of pushing his buttons and he has an even worse habit of letting them be pushed too hard till he snaps, although he does care for them quite a lot.”

Meet Karen Morgenstern. Mother knows best in this family dynamic as Karen is clearly The Boss. She has planned for every eventuality and then some—from snake bites to sunburn to a zombie apocalypse. The ringleader of this ragtag bunch, Karen isn’t afraid to get her hands dirty when the time calls for action. Don’t mistake her bake sale sweetness and ice cream social smile for softness; This mama can be a real bear when she needs to be.

Leslie Blake is a 2022 inductee into the Master Mystery Productions Hall of Fame. Recognized for her work onstage and off, she has received the Skeleton Key Award for Anonymous in 2017, the Diamond Mask Award for Excellence in Performance for the role of Kim Hyatt in What Happens at Sundown, and the Golden Diamond Mask (the 50th Diamond Mask ever presented) for the role of Witness the Fourth in Unlucky Seven. Her most recent role onstage was as Louisa Cahill in The Sky’s the Limit in April 2023. Leslie is also the writer/director/producer of the brand new fantasy audio drama series, The Center Chronicles. Below are Leslie’s thoughts on Karen:

“A mom. A super prepper, and someone with a keen eye detail. She’s not someone who deals well when things don’t go according to plan. She’s a character who struggles to balance her need for control and trying to handle life when things go sideways. Karen is a character I can relate to, in the sense that she’s a mom. She is far more prepared than I but, I would say her ability to handle stress is up for debate.“

Meet Della Reeves. We’re not sure what the stars were thinking when they foretold the arrival of Karen’s kooky New Age sister, Della. Robed in wild colors and wrapped in her own invented philosophy about the stars, the portents, the crystals, and the space invader auras, Della is the center of attention no matter where she goes. Good thing she is fascinated with people and will love to be your friend. No matter what.

Nicole Johnson returns after performing as Viv Coniston in Tete-a-Tete last fall. She is a four-time winner of the Diamond Mask Award for her acting for the roles of Miriam Lancaster in Ode to Agatha, Leonora in Exit Prima Donna, and Big Red in both the 2019 original and 2022 reader’s theatre revival of Close Encounters of the Hairy Kind. Additional accolades include the Skeleton Key Award for Ode to Agatha, the CLOTA Robe for The Gift of the Magi, and the Carol Venturi Volunteer of the Year Award for the 2022 CLOTA season. Nicole shares her insights on her vision for Della Reeves:

“The Stars Align for Della

Della is a fun loving free spirit.  She’s not afraid to speak her mind or to speak to Mother Crystal.  And if you’re feeling down, she’ll point out that there’s always something worthwhile in your horoscope or the mystical realm. Della is such a fun character for me to play.  She’s quirky and spirited.  What drew me to her was her sense of fun and her love of all things cosmos and terrestrial. To help create my version of Della was an eclectic mix of Endora from Bewitched, Tabitha from the soap opera Passions (she had a living doll, Della has Mother Crystal, I see a parallel there), and the way Della moves was inspired by Ida Lupino in The Twilight Zone episode The Sixteen-Milimeter Shrine. Della is truly one of a kind.”

Meet Allie and Casey Morgenstern. Every rainbow needs a dark cloud, and amidst the bright prints and personalities of the other members of the family are these two black-clad teenage kids of Bob and Karen. Armed with sarcasm and sharp wit, these two don’t suffer fools gladly, even when having to put up with them for hours in a van. They’d love nothing more than to get out of the sun for a few…oh…hundred or so years.

Allison Mitchell plays Allie. She first joined MMP in 2021 to play Ms. Meddler in Who’s Who? and subsequently joined in various acting and backstage opportunities for the company. She did tech for Closer to Heaven, performed as Witness the Seventh in Unlucky Seven, as Denise Pryce in Tete-a-Tete, and an Automaton in The Sky’s the Limit. For her help in commanding a larger role due to an illness among her castmates, she received a Special Commendation of Master Mystery Productions for Tete-a-Tete. Allison gave us her views on Allie:

“Allie Morgenstern likes to do thing such as be sarcastic, get money, listen to music, go to the mall, and wear black clothes. Some of the things she really doesn’t like doing include being around family, long car rides, being outside, being awake in the morning, heat, carrying heavy things, sunburns, and work. She often does schemes with Casey to get a bit of extra cash or to just annoy people. Growing up in a family like hers, she has gotten pretty good at coming up with lies on the spot and being sneaky. Playing her has been rather enjoyable, partially because she is rather similar to me such as how we both wear a lot of black, I can be kind of sarcastic, and we have similar first names. Aside from all that, this show has been quite fun because almost immediately everyone was great at their roles.”

Murolo Patchin plays Casey. Murolo is a relatively new addition to theatre in the valley, but he has quickly risen in dramatic prowess and confidence. He first joined theatre in CLOTA’s Fall 2022 production of Witness for the Prosecution as Thomas Clegg. He subsequently acted as Bert in Burroughs High School Drama Department’s October 2022 production of All My Sons and in their spring 2023 musical, Cinderella. He first joined Master Mystery Productions to play an Automaton in the April 22nd performance of The Sky’s the Limit. Murolo wrote his thoughts about Casey below:

“Casey Morgenstern is… What can I say? A moody teen filled with sarcasm and witty remarks. She has a shell that is not so kind, at least towards her family. But truthfully, she loves all of her family members. She gets tempered easily, especially by her sister Allie. She is quite often bored and doesn’t believe in “spending family time together”. Whether she’s bored or not, she’s eavesdropping on her family. She is frequently snarky and upset towards Karen, but she really does love her. Same with Bob. Allie… She loves her too, it’s just very… VERY difficult for her to agree with her and be nice to her. Sometimes, they work together perfectly. But the rest of the time, it’s mostly bickering. She loves Della too, but she feels some kind of disconnection with her due to her infatuation with Mother Crystal and what not. Casey does not look forward to a lot of things unless it’s something that she likes to do, like buy new clothes, use her phone, stay in her room all day with all the lights out… etc. She is not great at showing her appreciation, and she is a negative person. Not always, though. There’s still a hug or two and an “I love you” sometimes.

Pretending to be Casey has been challenging to figure out. Honestly, after I wrote this, I understood my character MUCH better and it made it so much easier to act as her. Pretending to have a family that I don’t have is definitely the most difficult to do. I just use acting tips that I like and I’m familiar with! Using references from my own experiences in life has been a great help for me! Allie is the easiest, because all I have to do is pretend that she’s my brother. That’s how I argue with her so easily. Karen, Bob, and (ESPECIALLY) Della, however, are… more challenging. All I do is pretend I’ve been living with these people my whole life. That helps! To pretend to be Casey, I have to make my brain be pessimistic. It also helps for me to remind myself that I have a family in the play. That reminds me that I am a totally different person, and it also reminds me that I have a connection the “family members” around me! I use my brother as a reference for Casey’s sarcasm. Remembering all of those things is… A lot. It’s still hard to remember. I blame the scripts. I makeshift the living room into the set and I practice my lines and blocking at night as frequently as I can. There are many more challenges that I’ve come across. I know I can accomplish it with time and practice!“

Madeleine Smith and Libby Mitchell round out the cast as a couple of hapless customers faced with the onslaught of the Morgenstern family.

Madeleine Smith makes her MMP debut with Tourist Trap, but she has been involved in local theatre with the Community Light Opera and Theatre Association. She’s performed in a double role in June 2022’s Murder by Farce. as Dr. Wyatt in Witness for the Prosecution, as the Gen-Bay Spokeswoman for The Gift of the Magi, and as Benjamin Hughes in Close Encounters of the Hairy Kind 2023 revival.

Libby Mitchell is a Master Mystery Productions veteran whose career began with Who’s Who? in November 2021. She has been seen as Ariel in Closer to Heaven, Witness the Seventh in Unlucky Seven, Denise Pryce in Tete-a-Tete, a Shopkeeper in The Gift of the Magi, and an Automaton in The Sky’s the Limit. She has received several Special Commendations for her assistance on Closer to Heaven and Tete-a-Tete.

Be thankful this isn’t your wacky family on the road. Every road trip starts with a map, but these zany tourists have more geographical issues than most. But we’ve given them an amazing and unique map to plan out their trip, and the audience gets to see this map at the show? Ever see a pop-up miniature world made of maps before? We’ll give you a behind-the-scenes look at the making of this one-of-a-kind prop in Mapping It Out: The Making of Tourist Trap (Part 2)!

And we’ll see you at the show! Don’t forget your tickets!

–Master Mystery Productions