The Night of the Murder

Postcard review by Caroline Russell-King

Show – The Night of the Murder

Playwright/s/Composer/s – Book and score by Maren Ord

Production Company/Theatre space – (community) Feather Pen Productions, Glenmore Christian Academy

Length – 2 ACTS, 2 hours 20 minutes (one intermission)

Genre/s –Musical Mystery Comedy

Premise – A woman persuades her husband to be another couple in order to gain access to a private upscale boat tour where they pretend a murder mystery game is being played but then a real theft and murder happens.

Why this play? Why now? – This real crowd pleaser is accessible to a large audience.

Curiosities – Where were the programs or the QR codes?

Notable Moment –The slo mo fight scene was very well done

Notable writing – Ord is refining her craft with every script she produces. Her strength is her music. This accomplishes one of the requirements of a successful musical – that of the catchy tune; earworms equal success. Most of the songs fit perfectly in the musical style, only two seem like they were from a different play. The couple’s duets about marital discord and true love have a realistic tone but seem to belong in a marital strife musical. The big chorus numbers are clever and fun. Murder mysteries with 10 characters throw up a lot of combinations of motives and means.  Most of this is set up in a long exposition with the murder happening at the end of Act One instead of the usual onset. The running gag where one character manifests advertising jingles to promote his designer pants shouldn’t work but it does.

Notable performances – Because I didn’t have a program, the only performer I recognized by name was the protagonist Mandee Marcil, who was in fine form. The other 9 performers were, as all community theatre productions are, varied in experience. The boyfriend in gold pants and chains was confident and cheeky. The drag act was suitably over-the-top. The actor playing the husband had one of the best voices, but he was in a more naturalist play than the over-the-top characters. This, however, is more often a director/playwright issue.

Notable design/Production – All the big wigs wore big wigs as a sight gag? 

Notable direction – Not only the playwright, composer and producer, Maren Ord is also the Musical Director. I don’t know what Kylie Eastman is like backstage but as a choreographer she’s terrific. By digging on Facebook, I found she ahd the unlikely production credit of combination Chorographer /Stage Manager. I don’t know who directed but they made it work.

One reason to see this show – It’s a wholesome, entertaining show take the whole family.

P.S. Someone should give Ord a CAT Award or several.