When you think of Valentine’s Day activities, a murder mystery event probably is not the first thing to come to mind, but on Feb. 2, RecWell, Office of Student Activities (OSA), Mad Cow and Sock and Buskin clubs collaborated to bring “My Bloody Valentine Murder Mystery” to the Elizabethtown College community.
Those who wished to attend the event registered via SignUpGenius to reserve their spot. Because of the popularity of the event, slots were soon filled. If students failed to show up, they were charged a $5 fee.
After a long two weeks of hyping up the event, 75 students gathered at 7 p.m. in the Koons Activity Venue (KAV) Friday night to engage in the festivities. Before the event, they could gather refreshments from Conrad’s Corner, featuring non-alcoholic Shirley Temples, and themed snacks like rose macarons provided by Dining Services.
The setting of this year’s Murder Mystery event was in a prohibition-era ‘juice’ bar. The owner and his two employees, an aspiring singer and laughable wannabe gangster, scrambled to try to keep their business afloat and populate the venue before their mob boss, played by Professor of Spanish Charla Lorenzen came to visit. Add in the investigative reporter with a gambling addict brother, widow and her rebellious, rich cousin, and trouble was bound to happen.
After a blackout scene, Lorenzen’s character was found dead on the floor. Two NYPD reporters burst into the KAV after an anonymous tip about illegal activity and began questioning the suspects. It was up to the audience to choose who they interrogated first. Then, after all the characters had their turn being heckled, the actors went out into the crowd to talk to the audience and plead their innocence.
“My favorite part was watching the characters stay in character,” Jasmine Romano, fourth-year psychology major said. Romano attended the event because she knew one of the actors on stage.
Unbeknownst to viewers, actors only had two practices to rehearse their lines, get to know their characters and see how they worked with the other performers. Compared to the typical months-long rehearsals for Etown’s plays, this time crunch presented a challenge. However, the actors managed to preserve and overcome this obstacle to engage in electric performances on the stage.
“My favorite scene was definitely the interaction between my character, Dorothy, and Laney Humble’s character, Lucille,” Em Clark, second-year criminal justice major said. “It was the scene that revealed the most about my character, and Laney was such a fantastic scene partner. It was a blast to bounce off of her!”
The second the show ended and the murderer was revealed, the room buzzed. Actors came off the stage to greet their fans as some shouted ‘I knew it!’
“I would describe this night as a thrilling adventure that really captures the audience and makes you part of the experience,” Evan Kohlbus, third-year dual major in English-Professional Writing and Japanese said.
For those who missed out on the event this year, don’t worry! Mad Cow, Sock and Buskin, RecWell, and OSA plan to make this an annual event, so mark your calendars!
