Murder at the Milford Theater - twice

On April 22 and 23, theater-goers found themselves transported to the 1920’s at a speakeasy called the “Abba Dabba” club where a “murder” enfolded (on stage ) in front of their eyes.

The murder mystery show was performed by Frank Marquette’s “Theater of the Road” company in two different formats; one was a two-day event with a three- course dinner at the Tom Quick restaurant and Part One of the show at the theater the same evening.

Guests stayed at the local hotels and then returned to the theater the next day for Part Two.

The second format was just the full show at the theater the next day.

In each case, the audience became part of the show and the actors became part of the audience.

In the two-day event, the actors were in character at the dinner– from their 1920’s costumes, to their practiced “Brooklyn accents” and their making cracks about not knowing about such anachronistic items as an iPhone.

The diners also had an opportunity to get to “know” the characters such as the two rival Speak-Easy singers Lulu, the girlfriend of mobster/club owner, Dutch Schultz, and Rosie, her nemesis and wannabe.

They spoke “rough gangster talk” prevalent in the Prohibition era they were depicting. Conversation was easy and the diners seemed to enjoy themselves. Some even wore night club evening apparel of the era.

Many people came from out-of-town just for this experience. For some, it was their first time in Milford. Amy Wu came from Rhinebeck (about 90 minutes away in New York), and was delighted with the two-day format because it gave her a chance to walk around the town and see the shops, and the local ambience.

“I enjoyed it immensely, and the theater was lovely,” she said. “I’m going to be back.”

The show itself (whether in two parts or one) was totally interactive. It was a comic farse with a combination of traditional theater, improv, music, and stand-up. There were some actors who were shills pretending to be a part of the audience. They helped spur the audience interaction with the on-stage actors.

People were really trying to figure out all the twists and turns of the plot and were really “into it.”

One couple, Yadette and Antonio Caso were captivated and studied the photos of clues at the back of the theater. Antonio said it was their special “date night” and they had a wonderful time.

The cast gave out three prizes to people who had good guesses about the murder.

There was a “Murder Café” tote bag, a bottle of wine and a gift card to the Milford Theater.

At the end of the show, audience members gathered to take photos of themselves with the cast. John Connors, a local Milford resident said, “It was a totally difference experience. So great for Milford.”

“For 25 years we’ve been killing people one laugh at a time with mystery, comedy and music,” Marquette said. “They will be back to do a Christmas show -something a bit different -in December.”

For more information, see www.murdercafe.net