Suffolk University’s Performing Arts Office put on their annual murder mystery dinner theater from Oct. 31 to Nov. 2. The show took the audience to the 1940s at a little club with a cast full of dark and mysterious characters and gave the audience “Murder at the Cafe Noir.”
The plot follows detective Rick Archer as she attempts to find a very wealthy client’s long lost daughter. The investigation leads her to the cafe where she meets the kooky cast of characters. However, due to unforeseen events she ends up getting tied into the mystery of several murders. It is up to the audience to deduce which suspect from their long list of murders committed these grisly murders.
The show is a fun interactive experience that allows the viewer to actually be up close and personal with the characters, making it an experience like no other on campus.
Not only were guests invited to solve these murders but they were also invited to dawn their best black and white outfits, with everyone dressed to the nines. They offered a three course meal, gave the audience dinner and a show.
Lindsey Salek, a junior political science major, played Madame Toureau. She talked about her experience with this show and how it changed throughout her time at Suffolk. In previous years she had been involved with dinner theater, doing productions such as “Murder at Prom ‘93” and “Murder Under the Big Top.”
“Since so much of dinner theater is cast-centric with not only the improv element but also just sort of the character development throughout rehearsal,” said Salek. “Our director Kathy Maloney was very receptive regarding shifting characters to match the actors a little bit more, and I think it gives you something different each time with the new cast.”
She went onto discuss how not only the changing cast for each year brings something new to the viewer each time but so does the story it tells.
“Often the little jokes and the references in the show stay consistent but there’s a new twist every year, making it like a scavenger hunt to find the twist each year,” said Salek. “Often people come in expecting one thing and it’s something else completely so I find that a lot of fun.”
On top of that, Salek discussed her experience trying to handle doing improv while trying to balance out her character. She said even with the years of experience she had in previous years, she still finds the audience interactive aspect of the show nerve-wracking.
“Anyone can ask you anything and you just have to be ready for it,” said Salek. “It’s really just another breed of getting into character because you don’t have anything scripted for these interactions for how your character would act. You truly have to be ready for anything but it’s worth it for the reactions you might get.”
Although Salek loved doing the show every year so far, unfortunately it seems that “Murder at the Cafe Noir” will be her final bow in dinner theater.
“It’s a lot of commitment and it can be very tough to manage,” said Salek.“But it’s so worth it just because it’s so much fun.”
Until then it seems the Suffolk community will have to wait patiently once more before another murder mystery falls upon us.
