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| Tom Staudenheimer, Kaitlin Abel, Makayla Staudenheimer, Conrad Newman, John Collins and Beth Olliges in Till Undead Do Us Part. Photo courtesy of WhoDunnit Murder Mystery Theater. |
Till Undead Do Us Part
Written, produced and directed by
A.S. Waterman
Reviewed by Keith
Waits
Entire contents
are copyright © 2012 Keith Waits. All rights reserved.
WhoDunnit Murder Mystery Theater
shows are set within a specific structure of alternating scenes and dinner
courses, but the latest offering, the season opener Till Death Do Us Part, shakes up the format slightly with the
setting of a celebrity wedding with paparazzi in attendance, staging a brief
but decidedly macabre ceremony before the first course. Why macabre? The bride
and groom are undead creatures –vampires in fact.
The setting
of a wedding reception maximizes the dinner table environment of an event room
in the Hyatt, unobtrusively pressing the entire audience into service as
supporting players. When time came for the traditional tossing of the bridal
bouquet, single women from the audience took to the “stage” with enthusiasm.
The device was made particularly effective because of a large table of
thirtysomethings celebrating a birthday. It was closely followed by a garter
throw in which the bridegroom discovers various unexpected items from beneath
his betrothed’s skirt – a skeletal hand and various creepy crawlies among them
– interjecting a mild note of kink into the otherwise G-rated story. Well, at
least as G-rated as a wedding between vampires that includes a murder can be.
The whole
thing is brought off with tongue firmly in cheek, with a good attention to
detail that includes fang-baring taking the place of air-kisses, and characters
proclaiming, “What the heaven?” instead of the usual epithet. My favorite might have been the use of
a juice-like plasma bag with the two straws to seal the deal in the ceremony
itself.
Although the
story is a silly and entertaining Halloween treat, I appreciate the added
layers arising from satire that targets two current
trends in the media landscape: ubiquitous, tony vampire stories, and the
gratingly self-absorbed celebrities who are famous for being famous that
dominate reality television. Think “Kardashian.”
A game group
of actors played under various levels of white make-up and gothic/comic
costumes, with Conrad Newman and John Collins proving the most assured as the
groom and his “worst man.” Makayla Staudenheimer brought just enough glamour,
raven-haired good looks, and narcissism to clinch the Kardashian connotation,
while Kaitlin Abel, Beth Oliges, Tom Staudenheimer, Kelsi Simpson and Jason
Kurtz rounding out the cast in solid fashion. WhoDunnit veteran Jeff McQueen
seemed to be having a good time on the sidelines as the wedding DJ, playing a
varied mix of oldies and dance tunes.
Editor’s Note: WhoDunnit roles are
double-cast to accommodate their particular schedule, and some actors mentioned
here may not be appearing when you attend.
Till Undead Do Us Part
October 5 -
27, 2012
Every Friday &
Saturday
Seating at 6:30 / Show
starts at 7:00
Special brunch performance on October 14.
WhoDunnit
Murder Mystery Theatre
Performing
at the Hyatt Downtown
320
West Jefferson Street
Louisville,
KY 40202
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