Welcome to Post Mortem! This is where Master Mystery Productions looks back on the performance of its most recent show.

“Ahoy, sailor!” With those sassy lines delivered from a star to the seasick, the trouble REALLY begins aboard the S.S. Americana. From bodies in staterooms to fake beards to royal impersonations to undercover assassins to an excess of duchesses to the most momentous, madcap ship wedding you’ve ever seen, the adventure on the Americana never lifts its foot from the gas. Funny, fast-paced, and fearless in its tomfoolery, this show became an instant MMP classic. Everyone rode high on the tidal wave of laughter that kept us rollicking and roiling all night long in our 41st Master Mystery Production simply titled Ahoy!

Returning to the VFW Ship 4084 for the first sime since Janis Kunz’s How to Solve a Murder in November 2023, Ahoy! was inspired by the “ship” in the venue’s name. Why not a murder on an ocean liner? We’ve trains and mansions and television sets, but never had MMP sailed before. Inspired by Agatha Christie escapades such as Evil Under the Sun, Murder on the Orient Express, and Death on the Nile along with musicals like Anything Goes and South Pacific, the script became the best new piece written for MMP yet. The cast was lightning-in-a-bottle good, a fantastic blend of veterans and newbies mixed in fun, surprising new combinations unlike any work they did before. And results were electrifying! One production member told us she “didn’t think we could have gotten a better cast.” Rehearsals left us wheezing from laughter long afterwards.

Ahoy! begins even as you cross the threshold into our seaside escape. Delicious dining and drinks provided by the VFW, helmed by head chef Carlos “Mo” Morales with cocktails and mocktails provided by VFW volunteers, staggered the guests at their sheer scope. We had three tiers of seating available: First Class Captain’s Table, Second Class Gossips seating, and Third Class Steerage. The Captain’s Table got to sit with the actual captain of the VFW while second class enjoyed sitting with gossipy actors sassing the stage characters all night. The gossips rotated around the room, meeting the guests and sharing their snark. But Steerage wasn’t left out of the fun. Chef “Mo” created his own French chef character and served our third class guests “rat meat” (in reality, jerky and fruit leather) to enhance their experience as well. And of course, everyone got drinks and a delectable view of this hysterical play. Then the real story began…

Sailing from England across the Atlantic Ocean to rendezvous with her wealthy parents in New York, society darling and cosmetics heiress Lana Lovelace brings her hapless new fiance, shy law clerk Joel Ryland along on the voyage to make their engagement official. Joel is sick to his stomach…from the heaving sea and the fear of meeting his future in-laws. And about Lana’s habit of “embroidery,” telling white lies about her personal life (and the people in it) to spice up the dreary life of being idly rich. Lana’s stories about Joel have put him into a pickle, and he wishes to teach her a lesson. Unfortunately, for both of them, some unpleasant influences have convened to make this maiden voyage turn into a masterpiece of a mess. Lana’s father has sent his lawyer to tail Lana and keep an eye on her famous diamond necklace, the Cape. Joel meets an actress who convinces him (or forces him against his will) to portray a dangerous crown prince to make Lana see how perilous her “embroidery” could be. Lana’s old sponsor gets it all muddled and thinks the crown prince is real! And there’s this little thing about a body being found in Lana’s cabin…and no one believes her! And that’s just the first act.

At intermission, the treats kept coming. Like all luxury ocean liners back in the day, a celebrity or two would be onboard. And we had our own. Straight from the nightclub scene of Chicago is a scandalous songbird, the chanteuse of the Red Fez speakeasy, Miss Diamond LaPore! Twice during the voyage, she sang for our guests jazzy standards such as “Anything Goes,” “Don’t Rain on My Parade,” and her signature number, “After You’ve Gone,” to raucous cheers and applause. Then our wily gossips contributed to the chatter on the ship with their telegrams home highlighting the indiscretions (or crimes) our passengers may or may not have committed. But remember, you didn’t hear it from me.

The madcap antics on the S.S. Americana continued as actresses became slap-happy grand duchesses, goats are prized for their appearance on currency, slapping becomes a royal tradition, clues are unearthed under a bed, spies hunt for law clerks, men get drunk, men get married to clueless widows, men get married to furniture, ladies marry ice swans…the list goes on! At one point, actors genuinely thought someone might pass away during the show. Cause of death: Laughter! At our epic closing night performance, the laughter crescendoed into hysterical wheezing and thunderous applause.

Audiences ADORED Ahoy! Many proclaimed it to be the best MMP show yet, topping even our spectacular run with The Last Garden Party this past spring. The writing received volumes of praise from our guests, calling it “witty” and “clever.” “I didn’t know what to expect when I came here, but your writing is awesome!” one guest told our director. Another guest loved the way every bit was interconnected and the undercover clues secreted beneath the silliness. Even kids who saw the show rhapsodized it, loving the writing, the acting, the singing, the whole experience! The acting was uniformly lauded, described as “perfect” in our press review for the production. Many of our actors were called “stars” in the Diamond Mask votes, alongside many comments that it was impossible to choose anyone above the others. And we agree. What a phenomenal cast and crew. We raise our cocktail glasses to them!

Read a review of the production here.

Closing night is our traditional awards night. First up was The Skeleton Key Award for Service Above and Beyond, our company’s oldest award. Each plaque is designed to uniquely reflect the show it was made for, making the Skeleton Key Award a symbol of an individual putting their unique 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 Regina Troglin for winning the Skeleton Key Award for Ahoy!

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. Originally, we planned only to award four Diamond Masks, but the celebratory atmosphere of closing night, one of the best we’ve had, convinced us to open the field and celebrate more of these phenomenal people, whose votes were so close together. In the end, six people won the Diamond Mask Award for Ahoy!, three from Main Cast and three from the Gossip Ensemble. Congratulations to Fran Kelty, Jonathan Blair, Olivia Holm-Risden, Janis Kunz, Allison Mitchell, and Paige Ratliff for your Diamond Mask-winning performances!

The Ruby Hand Award for Achievements in Design recognizes excellence in the various fields of technical theatrical design from set, costumes, makeup, hair, lighting, sound, music, choreography, publicity and more. Members working on the production vote anonymously for the best technical design of the show on opening night, and the winning designers who receive the most votes are awarded on the production’s closing night. Not every production will present the award based on the show’s scale or technical elements. Designs that tie in votes both receive the award. Designers can win the award multiple times. Congratulations to Beth Sparks-Jacques for your Ruby Hand Award-winning costume design for Ahoy!

Special Commendations are MMP’s thank yous for members who have undertaken special, extra jobs on the production that often aren’t covered by something as simple as “actor” or “designer.” Many times, these are our eleventh-hour heroes–understudies who fill in, people who help us move or set up, chefs, venue coordinators, brainstormers, problem solvers, etc. We had so many people on the team to help us create this summer blockbuster. Congratulations to Janis Kunz, McKenna Sangren, Paige Ratliff, Elise Bechtel, Allison Troglin, Jareth Sartoris, Cassandra Sartoris, Allen Soard, Carlos “Mo” Morales, Shelly Shermer, Kandi House, Tamera Walters, and the Community Light Opera and Theatre Association (accepted by CLOTA Board President Jonathan Blair).

One final honor for the night was a surprise early induction into the MMP Hall of Fame for the 2026 Class. At Master Mystery Productions, we have the MMP Hall of Fame, which serves to recognize long-standing artists at the company who devote years of their time, energy, and creativity to the betterment of MMP as a whole. These artists often fill multiple roles, have won multiple awards, and have generated iconic work in the fields of acting, technical theatre, and beyond. Without them, MMP would be nothing. So each year, we try to honor individual members of the company by inducting them into the Master Mystery Productions Hall of Fame. We are honored this year to induct Jonathan Blair into the MMP Hall of Fame in 2026!

Jonathan Blair first joined MMP in 2018’s Mutiny on the Sea Witch as the hot-headed Coxswain Pierce on the pirate ship, taking home his first Diamond Mask Award for Excellence in Performance. Since then, he has cemented a legacy of memorable and outstanding performances within the company from The Marquis Mauvais in Eat Cake to an Automaton in The Sky’s the Limit. He made history as the first actor to win a Diamond Mask for a double role with Frank and Officer Dixon in Close Encounters of the Hairy Kind in 2019, then made history again as one of the first to win the award for reviving those characters in the 2022 reader’s theatre revival. In voice acting, he lent his talents to the character of Inspector Harlow and the Announcer for the Basil Bremerton shows, Mum’s the Word and Visions of Sugarplums, winning a Special Commendation for the latter. Additional voice work is heard in the episodes “The Man at the End of the Bed” and “The Old Corpse Road” in Regions Beyond and as the cliffhanger announcer in Uncharted Seas. With his recent Diamond Mask-winning performance as Joel Ryland in Ahoy!, Jonathan secures his legacy as one of the area’s most skilled performers. He also serves as the current Board President for the Community Light Opera and Theatre Association (CLOTA). Congratulations, Jonathan, on your induction into the Hall of Fame!

Ahoy! was a spectacular work about collaboration and partnership. It wouldn’t have been possible without the united efforts of so many people, working together toward a common goal: to make something fun. Our many, many, many, MANY thanks especially to the team of the Lloyd E. Frost VFW Ship 4084 for opening their doors to the crazy chaos of Master Mystery Productions and letting us produce the best new comedy in years for our company. And thank you so much to our cast and crew, who were true diamonds during this production. You are the reason the show is now so beloved in our community. You made it sparkle. Our hats off to you. Take a much-deserved bow!

How will we conclude what has already become an iconic season of theatre? Maybe it’s time to take a trip to the Emerald City and ask a humbuggy Wizard for ideas. Maybe Dorothy (and her little dog, too) should make another trip to answer for what happened to the legendary Silver Shoes. Maybe a certain old enemy has returned. As a fundraiser for the Friends of the Library, Master Mystery Productions is reopening The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum to imagine what would happen after Dorothy’s first visit. Get ready for puppets, hot air balloons, witches, wands, and a scavenger hunt for the most powerful objects in the world in show #42 we call After Oz.

After Oz features a West Cast and an East Cast which will alternate performance dates. Come see all your favorite kooky characters as you search a magically transformed library for the Shoes. The show performs November 6, 7, 13, and 14 at 7:30 p.m. at the Ridgecrest Branch Library (101 E. Las Flores Ave.). Tickets go on sale in October.

We’ll meet you all down the yellow brick road! See you in Oz!

–Master Mystery Productions