Happy 2026! We’ve been around the block here at MMP for the last ten years. We are building an impressive back catalogue of amazing productions and stories-to-die-for. This year, we are theming the season as “All That Glitters.” Whether it’s a missing diamond, a sunken treasure, the stars in the sky, a disco ball, or the Emerald City and the silver shoes, lots of things will glint and glimmer like fireworks and champagne in the New Year. Are you ready to sparkle and shine? Read on the learn about a truly scintillating season ahead! We’d love to have you a part of the year’s jewels.

THE LAST GARDEN PARTY; OR HOW A LADY KEEPS HER POISE AROUND CORPSES

England at the turn of the twentieth century was a period of peace, prosperity, and cloying politeness. In the year 1900, as Victoria’s record-shattering reign eased toward its end, the young second wife of “the only wealthy peer left in England,” Phoebe Walliscroft, throws a garden party at their country estate to celebrate midsummer while her husband is abroad. But her party is not going according to plan. First, the village peerage doesn’t respect her since she’s “just an American.” Second, the festivities are dominated by Phoebe’s new and eccentric in-laws. Third, there’s a skeleton under the croquet set…just as they were about play a game! As her troublesome in-laws-turned-suspects trade witticisms, insults, and suspicions, Phoebe and the rest of her guests attempt to piece together this puzzling problem…before this garden party becomes their last. A revival of the 2016 classic, the new production will feature a revised script with new characters and a brand-new solution to figure out!

In 2016, we crafted one of our best-loved comedies–a romp through the English countryside with the aristocracy we described as “Oscar Wilde meets Sherlock Holmes.” In 2019, it was voted by our audiences to be revived with a brand-new solution. Well, here it is! Now subtitled How a Lady Keeps Her Poise Around Corpses, after one of the most iconic lines from the original script, this new production introduces new characters and new solution to solve while keeping the same charm and humor from the first iteration. This production–our landmark 40th–will be directed by MMP Hall of Fame Artist Devanne Fredette for her record twentieth show with MMP in time for the show’s 10th anniversary. Not only that, but the 2016 production was Devanne’s first show with MMP ten years ago, so it’s a beautiful full-circle moment. We need actors to tell a tale with lots of silliness and sass (and a skeleton, but he’s very well-mannered).

Auditions for The Last Garden Party will be January 23 and 24, 2026 from 4 to 6 p.m. at Red Rock Books (206 W. Ridgecrest Blvd.). The show will perform April 18, 25, May 2, May 9, 2026 at 7:30 p.m. at Ridgecrest Presbyterian Church (633 W. Las Flores Ave.).

UNCHARTED SEAS

“When we last saw our heroes: They were bravely facing the unnamed terrors of the Uncharted Seas, searching for the wreck of the world’s richest lost ship, The Midas….” You are a member of the crew searching for a legendary lost ship bearing gold and riches unparalleled. Your leader is the fearless explorer, Savannah James, who is diving deep into the treacherous waters of the Uncharted Seas to search for the wreck. She may face dangers like seas monsters, whirlpools, booby traps, and rival explorers, and she needs your quick thinking and sharp eyes to navigate the unnavigable. Armed with a map, a passport, and a compass, you will have to help Savannah find the Midas and recover its treasure before the disaster strikes. Can you help her escape an underwater cave-in? Will your wits help her find the weakness in a rampaging Kraken? But watch out for those cliffhangers! You’ll explore the venue for clues, radio transmissions from Savannah, and more to try and keep your leader safe. The person who finds the Midas claims the lion’s share. Will YOU be the savviest explorer of them all? Tune in to Uncharted Seas for more of this thrilling treasure hunt…

Uncharted Seas will be a single day multimedia interactive treasure hunt styled after the 1930’s adventure serials with daring cliffhangers and larger-than-life explorers. Audio transmissions, maps, riddles, and clues will form the basis of your treasure hunt as you explore our venue, the ever lovely Red Rock Books, to try and find the information you need to keep Savannah safe and move one fathom closer to the treasure. Ready to dive in?

We will be holding a casting call on Saturday, March 6, 2026 for any people who wish to either lend their voice to a character in recorded transmissions or work the event as member of the crew. Uncharted Seas performs June 2026 at 7:30 p.m. at Red Rock Books for one night only!

EX LUNA

Space. The final frontier. The place where no one can hear you scream. A team of astronauts are on a mission to recover the lost remains of the Eagle, the lunar module that carried the first men to the Moon. But the recent lunar landing has gone horribly awry when the astronaut making a scheduled moon walk dies after his oxygen supply malfunctions. Equipment that shows clear signs of tampering. Before the crew can identify the one responsible, their capsule, on the return to Earth, suffers a devastating oxygen leak and power drainage, turning their return into a race for survival. With a murdered crewmate and a killer in the capsule, it’s up to teams from Mission Control and the Space Station to assemble the evidence, solve the murder, and navigate the marooned astronauts back home in record time. It’s an epic space-age adventure that will leave you breathless!

Ex Luna first performed near our 1st birthday in March 2016 for the Peer Mentor Club at California State University, Sacramento. This was our first cooperative play mystery where our entire audience worked as a single team to solve a murder on the lunar landscape. Inspired by both the Apollo 11 and Apollo 13 lunar missions, we divided the audience into Space Station and Mission Control teams in separate rooms with only spotty means of communicating. Reimagining this show for a fully digital production, we will be casting for the astronauts on the mission and those in Mission Control trying to guide them home. A casting call will be posted in February with numerous parts to fill. Voice acting parts can be filled by anyone ages 15 and up from around the world. Ex Luna premieres July 20, 2026, to commemorate the 1969 Moon landing by Apollo 11, on the MMP YouTube page. To read about what happened at the first performance of Ex Luna, read our Post Mortem blog post about it.

LAST DANCE

Saturday night 1978. A night nestled between the explosive success of Saturday Night Fever and the explosion on Disco Demolition Night. A hot Brooklyn summer has driven droves of people into Flair, a discotheque. Congregating on the dance floor, the crowd waits for Her. The Queen of the Dance Floor. When she arrives, the party has really started. Angelique is how they know her. No one really knows who she is. She’s beautiful, graceful, flirtatious, and secretive. The dance floor is her capital, Flair her stronghold, and New York City her queendom. She has loved as much as she has lost. Those blessed to be in her inner circle seem privy to the real woman underneath the glamor. But tonight, Angelique will not come. Because she was found crushed to death on the dance floor under the giant mirror ball. As the beat goes on in the club below, Angelique’s inner circle has gathered privately to mourn…and remember. Resurrect even. Through their memories, Angelique comes alive again—for one night only—to ignite the dance floor to tell her secret story as only she could. What dark passions did she stir? What did she keep out-of-sight from the spotlight? And who really is Angelique?

Last Dance is a unique collaboration between two longtime theatrical powerhouses: Daniel Stallings (MMP founder, award-winning playwright, director, producer, and technical director) and Olivia Holm-Risden (MMP Hall of Fame Artist, award-winning actress and make-up artist, choreographer, and rising superstar director behind 2024’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream). Blending the arts of theatre and dance, the show is a disco dance party where parts of the story will be told through traditional theatre with actors and a script and other parts will be told as musical flashbacks starring our reigning disco diva, Angelique. Her story is told entirely through dance, giving her the distinction as our first totally mime character. But don’t fret if you personally feel you are more rhythmically challenged or don’t want to dance in public. The show is built for multiple styles of performance, allowing actors of all stripes to take part in the glittery mirrorball fun. Olivia Holm-Risden has had much success in translating theatre scripts into dance stories with her work on Shakespeare, and we are excited to bring that talent to MMP.

Auditions for Last Dance will be May 8 and 9, 2026 from 4 to 6 p.m. at Red Rock Books (206 W. Ridgecrest Blvd.). The show will perform July 31, August 1, 6, and 7, 2026 at 7:30 p.m.

AFTER OZ

Something strange is happening over the rainbow. Years ago, young Dorothy Gale from Kansas thought she had a dream. A dream of a magical land filled with munchkins, living scarecrows, winged monkeys, and roads of yellow bricks. But as she’s grown older, she’s dismissed the odd memories as lingering strain from the cyclone she survived. Until the cyclone returns. Dorothy is whisked from the Kansas prairie back to the Land of Oz…to answer for the theft of the magical silver shoes. At the Emerald City, Dorothy encounters friends and villains old as they all try to scramble to find these powerful treasures. Because whoever controls the shoes controls unbelievable power. Where could they be? Will you be able to help Dorothy keep them out of the wrong hands and get home again? Ride the cyclone with us, click your heels together, and help save Dorothy in a brand-new, family-friendly mystery adventure. You may know the original story, but do you know what happened after Oz? There’s no telling where the yellow brick road will lead you this time…

For the first time, Master Mystery Productions will be partnering with the Ridgecrest Branch Library to produce an interactive mystery fun for the whole family. The production will welcome performers from ages 7 and up to take part, and it will combine puppetry, theatre, and a scavenger hunt in one funny, madcap adventure. All your favorite Ozians will be there: the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodsman, the Cowardly Lion, Glinda, and more. And maybe some less favorite faces. *dun dun DUN* Step into a storybook like never before and watch these characters leap off the page! This show will be an excellent opportunity–under the careful leadership of MMP’s evergreen writer/director Daniel Stallings–for actors to hone new skills and new performers to start their journey. Get ready to paint the town…emerald green!

Auditions for After Oz will be August 14 and 15, 2026 from 4 to 6 p.m. at Red Rock Books. The show will perform November 6, 7, 13, 14 at 7:30 p.m. at the Ridgecrest Branch Library.

It’s going to be a fun ride at MMP as we gather together for a sparkling 2026 season. Which shows are you ready to see? Which ones would you like to perform? We are always ready to welcome new performers to add to the crown jewels we call Master Mystery Productions. We’d love to have you onboard. Let’s get started! Happy New Year, and happy sleuthing, everyone!

–Master Mystery Productions