Who killed Isabel Czerny? Was it the manicurist-or the hairdresser? Or was it the antique dealer or the society matron?
And what about poor Edwin Drood? Did the organist knock him off? Or was it the ingenue, the gravedigger, the shy and shadowy Bazzard, the Rev. Mr. Crisparkle, the Asian woman-or her brother? It might even be the opium den proprietress.
It all sounds rather theatrical, because it is. But don`t count on any easy solutions. The answer to these two theatrical whodunits lies not with the playwrights but with the audience.
In both plays-”Shear Madness” and ”The Mystery of Edwin Drood”-
audience participation is the name of the game. For seven years, audiences at the Mayfair Theatre in the Blackstone Hotel have been democratically deciding who done in Mrs. Czerny. And now audiences at two theaters-Candlelight Dinner Playhouse in Summit and the Apple Tree Theatre in Highland Park-are picking Mr. Drood`s killer out of the crowd of suspects.
”Drood,” billed as the ”solve-it-yourself” musical, won five Tony Awards on Broadway in 1986. It had its area premiere last fall at the Illinois Theatre Centre in Park Forest.
Based on an unfinished mystery novel that was Charles Dickens` last work, the story of the mysterious disappearance of the young Englishman Edwin Drood was transformed into a musical by Rupert Holmes, who left plenty of opportunities for amateur sleuths` solutions. There are seven (or is it eight?) possible ”murderers” and 18 different endings.
The story unfolds as a play within a play, set in an old English music hall. Before the show starts, cast members stroll through the audience, chatting and encouraging people to boo and hiss the villains. ”Hang on to yer jewels,” the gravedigger advises. ”This is not a very classy place!”
In the second act, audience members vote on their choices of plot twists and guilty parties. The show proceeds, using their recommendations.
The thrust stage at Apple Tree lends itself to ”Drood,” which is played as if in-the-round. Cast members stroll among the paying customers, urging them to join the fun, which they do with enthusiasm.
”We want to project the feeling that people are in this London music hall,” explains Gary Griffin, who directed the musical. ”Before the show starts, the audience realizes that they are part of the show and their interaction is important. The unique thing about `Drood` is the conspiracy between the actors and audience, relating to how the show turns out.”
In the Apple Tree production, busy musical comedy regular Alene Robertson, winner of three Joseph Jefferson Awards, is cast as the opium den proprietress. ”I`m basically a shy person, which is hard to believe because of the roles I play,” she says. ”It takes a lot for me to participate in the pre-show warmups. I have to force myself. It`s kind of like going into a party where you don`t know anyone.”
Over at the Candlelight`s in-the-round presentation, Dale Morgan, who plays the organist (who`s also an opium den patron), claims he loves being hissed and the pre-show mingling with the audience. ”It`s a lot of fun getting the audience involved,” he says. ”When you have their participation, it makes it easier to keep your energy level up.”
Candlelight`s Larry Wyatt, cast as the stage manager, and Bill Bush, as the timid Bazzard, are old hands at breaking the theater`s proverbial fourth wall to converse with audiences. Each learned the skill in innumerable appearances in ”Shear Madness” before they moved to ”Drood.”
”I connect with Bazzard easily,” says Bush. ”I`ve gone through the same frustrations as a character actor, hoping to play the lead and get the girl. Our best audiences are at Wednesday matinees, playing mostly to older women. They just love the pre-show warmup and the voting.”
Audiences at ”Shear Madness” loved the interaction too. So much, Bush remembers with a laugh, that ”things can get out of hand sometimes.”
Set in a beauty shop run by a flamboyant hairdresser, ”Shear Madness”
is filled with outrageous double entendres and heavy-duty mugging. When pianist Isabel Czerny, who lives above the salon, is murdered, the hairdresser and three other cast members are suspects.
The house lights go up, and the audience is invited to help reconstruct events. During intermission, a detective (played by Matt Miller) meets with audience members in the lobby to answer their questions. In the second act, a vote by the audience selects the murderer.
Miller has been in the show since October, 1987, occasionally leaving to fulfill other commitments. He has also played other characters, as have other cast members. ”It`s surprising what people think they see,” he says. ”We get some strange questions.”
One night recently, audience members Kate Wessing, Mike Knutson, Wayne and Deane Rengren and Ted and Marilyn Burke were among those quizzing Miller. ”Why were the police there posing as customers?” ”How did the antique dealer know that a scissors was the murder weapon?” ”Why did Mrs. Shubert
(the society matron) have to use a card to call her home?” ”What is going on between the manicurist and the antique dealer?”
Paula Flanagan, who plays the manicurist, has been chosen as the murderer about half the time since she started playing the part two years ago. ”There are rarely cold audiences,” she says. ”Every night is an adventure. One night recently someone stood up with a gun and pointed it at the stage. We were shaken up, but it turned out to be a water pistol. That was really getting into the act.”
But the fun doesn`t always end with the show. Afterwards, audience members frequently continue to discuss possible endings. Jack and Jeri Jensen and John and Lee Ann Chisholm were still sitting in the Blackstone lobby after a recent performance, reluctant to leave until they had cracked the case.
John and Jack fingered the manicurist, but their wives couldn`t agree. Jeri insisted that Mrs. Shubert could be the guilty one, reasoning, ”She came in late and seemed least likely to have done it.” Lee Ann, who had seen the show three years ago, made like Angela (”Murder, She Wrote”) Lansbury, accusing the antique dealer of killing the piano player.
But do people really forget this is all make believe? You bet they do. Just ask actress Marilyn Abrams, co-producer of ”Shear Madness.” ”I opened in Chicago, playing the manicurist,” she recalls. ”During one intermission, a woman in the audience made an appointment for a hairdo and manicure for the following week. The next day, the box office received a call from her, canceling the appointment.
”The only thing that topped that was the night a man rushed up to the stage, yelling, `I did it! I did it! Take me away!` ”
What: ”The Mystery of Edwin Drood”
Where: Candlelight Dinner Playhouse, 5620 S. Harlem Ave., Summit;
735-7400.
When: Open-end run (at least through May)
How much: $27.95-$39.95 (dinner/show package)
What: ”The Mystery of Edwin Drood”
Where: Apple Tree Theatre, 593 Elm Pl., Highland Park; 432-4335.
When: Through March 19
How much: $13-$16
What: ”Shear Madness”
Where: Mayfair Theatre, Blackstone Hotel, 636 S. Michigan Ave.; 786-9120. When: Open-end run
How much: $17-$20
