Welcome to Post Mortem! This is where Master Mystery Productions looks back on the performance of its most recent show.
Pack your bags and get ready to roll. A family road trip sounds like the perfect activity for the late summer months…if you can survive the “family” part. And with a family like the Morgensterns, the survival part is even more important. What’s a vacation to Death Valley without a little murder mystery thrown in for good measure? We went the extra mile to bring the insanity of a road trip to Red Rock Books for Tourist Trap.
Tourist Trap was our 2023 Weird Weekend production. They always start from a central idea: What weird facet of the Mojave Desert and Death Valley do we want to celebrate this year? With all the national parks, landmarks, sights, and so on around us, a road trip to these sights felt perfect. And with 2023 being the 90th anniversary of Death Valley being declared a National Monument, the idea was even more apt. Throw in some wacky family members, zinc oxide on the nose, sunburns, and lost luggage, and you have the recipe for a funny interactive mystery.
The Morgenstern family–Bob, Karen, Aunt Della, and the kids, Casey and Allie–have lost their way on their trip to Death Valley. Misfortune befalls them further as their car will no longer start and the desert heat (“It’s a dry heat.”) threatens the safety of a suspiciously long and disturbingly shaped piece of…”luggage” they brought. Bob bribes the kids to move it again…and again around the store. Della antagonizes everyone with her homemade horoscopes, her guidance from Mother Crystal, and her aura groping. Casey and Allie are committed to being as unhelpful as possible with their sarcastic remarks. And Karen’s composure frays ever further at the madness around her.
Halfway through the journey, the audience got to search the store to find the suspects’ luggage and dig through the carefully curated contents for clues. As they search, they had the chance to overhear the characters talking to themselves or others. Little nuggets of information were sprinkled throughout the hunt for a mechanic in the yellow pages, a secret deal with a gift shop, and a backstabbing plot fomenting behind the scenes. It was a bit like mining for precious gems among all the excess supplies found buried in those suitcases.
The adventure takes even wackier turns than Garlock Rd. as the body…I mean the “luggage” is revealed to be a fake and has gone missing. Where could it be? What is this family really up to? Struggling to shift the luggage from one part of the store to the other left guests laughing. Let’s not forget the hapless customer being surrounded by these wild, desperate personalities. Audiences were laughing and having a good time watching the chaos unfold. Wry remarks and sarcastic barbs flew across our makeshift stage (“When do we get to the inevitable cannibalism?). We had a great time performing, even despite the warnings about Tropical Storm Hilary. We all made it out of that show high and dry. And very glad we don’t have a family like the Morgensterns.
Read the full review from The Daily Independent here.
Every road trip has a final destination. Closing night is our traditional awards night. First up was The Skeleton Key Award for Service Above and Beyond, our oldest award. Each designed to uniquely reflect the show it was made for, the Skeleton Key Award is a symbol of an individual putting their heart and soul into a Master Mystery Production, going above and beyond their assigned jobs in the show to make it the best it can be. They are inspirations to us in the company, and they remain celebrated in our programs and on our website for years to come. Congratulations Libby Mitchell for winning the Skeleton Key Award for Tourist Trap!
Following the Skeleton Key, we presented the coveted Diamond Mask Awards for Excellence in Performance. Voted by audiences, guests select their nominees for the award based on the performances they liked best. The actors with the most votes win. On their first win, they receive a special diamond pin and subsequent wins will receive a diamond chain to create a cascade of diamonds. Two performers won the award for Tourist Trap. Congratulations to Nicole Johnson and Murolo Patchin for your Diamond Mask-winning performances!
Putting on a show is seldom flawless. One can always expect complications along the way. But when times are difficult and challenges arise, some people find the strength and dedication to help us cross the finish line. We are forever grateful to these individuals. We awarded a Special Commendation to Madeleine Smith as an expression of tremendous gratitude for her work on the show and willingness to step up and help in times of difficulty. She stepped up as our rehearsal stand-in, prompter, and understudy to make sure the cast always had a voice to work with. To say we are grateful is an understatement. Congratulations to our Special Commendation superstar!
Audiences had a blast and we did too. We laughed at every rehearsal as the antics grew more and more wild. We applaud our cast and crew for embracing the madness and giving us one helluva great show. The creative ideas we took were so good that even the makeup was lauded by the critics. Bravo to everyone who worked on this show! Another successful production in the history books!
We’ve soared the skies and burnt rubber on the open road. Where will our journey take us next? Grab a ticket because our next station will be an elegant (and hilarious) trip on the rails. What could be more quintessential detective fiction than a mystery on a train? Trust new playwright Janis Kunz to deliver a railroad mystery comedy so charming that it’s the perfect close for our season. All aboard for our 36th Master Mystery Production…
HOW TO SOLVE A MURDER
Auditions will be announced soon! See you there!
Master Mystery Productions 