Murder Mystery Theater, the kind that you can hire to come to your company party or large event, is growing in popularity every day. It seems that new troupes are popping up every day in cities across America. There are several to choose from now. Why this explosion in popularity?
Well a good murder mystery party is truly exciting and unpredictable. If the mystery is well written, it is intriguing and captivating for your guests. When a good murder mystery company does your party, the guests escape to a different world.
So how do you choose the right murder mystery party for your guests? It depends on your tastes; there are many styles to choose from and many questions to ask. Do you want a real mystery that is a challenge to solve and keeps them guessing? or do you want a campy comedy show that is light and silly? Or a little of both? Would you like the setting to be contemporary, or shall we transport your guests back to the Forties or Victorian England? Do you want actors that blend in with you guests, or center stage campy actors? Would you enjoy a Sopranos parody, or a classic gumshoe detective story?
I joined the mystery performance world when I was 23, back in 1989. The concept was still new, they called it Audience Participation Theater. I joined a group in NJ and the style was all camp: madcap hijinx, outlandish costumes and characters, hokey but fun. Working the tables, making people laugh, I had a blast. I even wrote my own silly script that company is still using today.
A few years later, I relocated to Los Angeles, CA. Out west, the murder mysteries we performed were contrasting: the goal was to have your actors blend right in with the guests, you did not know who was who. The mysteries they solved were actually challenging and intriguing, the writing was superb, the plots filled with twists. When someone would discover something, the guests were truly amazed and excited and captivated. But still I would see too much down time in between these moments, a little slower moving night, and I wanted to see actors talents utilized more.
The detective in these scenarios was the only one that was not meant to blend in, and soon I won the role of the Lead Detective. I traveled all over America with my “COLUMBO meets JAY LENO” style character. Literally hundreds of times I performed as that character with this very popular mystery company.
I took this character Detective Sharpo, and started my own Sharpo Mysteries. Nora and I now write compelling plots with diabolic motives, and I am a member of Mystery Writers of America. We like a mix of some characters that blend in, and some over the top entertaining characters that keep the night moving and the guests laughing. The event comes of real and silly at the same time, intriguing yet entertaining. Even during the cocktail hour before the mystery begins, we set the tone of the night with strolling performers mingling with the guests, doing improv and magic.
This balance is actually hard to come by in a mystery dinner troupe, so be sure to ask these questions when making your choice. See you at the show!
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