'Tis a Mystery

Jiminy Christmas, I haven't blogged in over a month... almost 6 weeks.

I will blame this partially on the fact that nothing life-changing or earth-shattering or deeply profound has happened in the past many weeks. (Then again, if you believe in the 'butterfly effect', everything has the potential to be life-changing and/or earth-shattering... but I digress.)

I have been doing the murder mystery dinner theatre show at Broadway Palm in their Marquee Theatre. Boy, has it been a challenge! A good challenge, but a challenge nevertheless.

When I returned to theatre after having my children, I eased in gently (or so I thought) by joining the cast of an interactive dinner theatre. Little did I know at the time, but I would meet artists who would not only impact my life but that I would reconnect with in other avenues later in my career.
My 'love interest' was no other than Jim 'Doc' Coates, my cohort and leading lady were Kristi Smith and Barbara Ellis, the crooner and voice of the Mystery Mansion was Jackson Fisher... and so it was that I began a long-standing routine of weekends spent schlepping plates and hawking storylines to unruly or disinterested crowds from the summer of '98 to the Fall of '99.
For those who have never done interactive dinner theatre, I'll try to give a quick rundown.

Remember those murder mystery dinner parties that were all the rage in the '80's and '90's? No? Then you're clearly too young to be reading my blog. Go turn on TMZ and let the grown-ups talk.

So, think of one of those parties, but on the scale of 100 'guests'; each with an identity and relationship to one of the primary characters/suspects. Some individuals have lines in the 'show', some have clues... and the more you interact with the other guests, the more info you gain in solving the mystery.
Not only is there a 'script' to learn, but there is a huge element of improv involved. No two shows are ever alike. The 'killer' rotates each weekend with the coinciding clues/props track... and because the audience is the final 'character' in a complete production and no two audiences are the same... well, it makes for one interesting piece of theatre.

I had actually vowed that I would never do dinner theatre again. It was especially grueling when I was waiting tables during the day and then waiting tables on the weekends (in uncomfortable shoes and with a script to follow). I burned out quick and soon realized that I much more enjoyed the (uninterrupted) luxury of full-scale productions with complete through-lines and character arcs. (Not that I didn't play my share of chorus gals and spear-carriers.)

However, I found myself reunited with Jackson and Doc for a reading of Jackson's newly written show... and serendipity reigned supreme when The Broadway Palm picked it up and Jackson asked if I'd be interested in joining the cast until I leave for The Rep in March.

The pay is decent and the show itself is not nearly as difficult as some of the material I've done in past productions, but the experience itself is a challenge... and has reintroduced me to some of the lessons I had forgotten about the necessity of improv skills and thinking on your feet (especially with the many factors involved with live theatre). Just tonight, we dealt (rather gracefully) with a very sick leading lady sans voice and a leading man running in at the last minute after his return flight was delayed... among the typical bumps and rifts that make every night unique.

This element also leaves me exhausted at the end of the show. There is a lot of energy expended in those three epic hours... but I feel good at the end of the night - like I've worked - and I've had a blast with the BPW crew.

I'll have one more weekend of performances with this cast before they break for a week and put the new cast together.

I'm getting excited and anxious about the new adventure that awaits me in Little Rock, and I can't wait to meet the rest of the Hairspray cast and love on the friends that I've been missing over the past couple of months.

And on that note, I must get some rest before tomorrow's matinee. Gotta bring my 'A' game... someone's gonna want hot tea.