By Aliyah Bidwell, Senior Reporter
The Northwestern theater program is hosting its first show of the semester, “The Act of Murder,” on Feb. 16, 17 and 18.
The production is an interactive murder mystery written by Billy St. John. The play will begin at 7 p.m. Feb. 16 and 17 and Feb. 18 at 2 p.m.
The show is a play within a play, and there are two different time periods: one for the audience and one for the cast.
Some actors will be dressed like they’re from the 1950s, and some will be from the 1930s. The show the audience will be watching is in the 1950s, and the show the characters will be putting on is a 1930s show.
“Professor [Kimberly] Weast and I love a good plot twist, and that is one of the reasons we chose this play,” said Mickey Jordan, director of technical theater. “We also believed that this would be a good challenge for our students. The last murder mystery we were able to do was ‘Death and Deceit,’ and it went well, but this was pre-covid.
“This time, the audience won’t be on the stage. They will be in their seats, but there will still be an interactive opportunity while watching this play.
“One thing that drives the cast nuts is that the last pages of the script aren’t given to them until dress week. The reason Professor Weast and I agree to do this is to keep the suspense. If the actors know who the killer is too soon without knowing it, they will subconsciously give it away on stage.”
Jordan worked on the scene design for about a month, and the theater students are still building the set.
“The set will have many parts, and some will move around and be taken apart, but I don’t want to give away too much because it’s part of the plot,” he said.
The show has about 10 characters on stage and an equal number of understudies.
“The understudies have been working just as hard as the main cast, even though they may never go on themselves,” Jordan said.
Theater major Lisa Turner plays B.J. Ellington, and she is the stage manager in both plays. Turner has been in eight plays at Northwestern. She said she auditioned for the play because she read some of it and thought it would be fun.
“My favorite line in the play is when I say ‘business,’” she said. “I have a lot of one-liners. I am looking forward to the community coming to see us perform on performance nights because it is going to be a really good show.”