In Focus

I tried something new over the weekend with some friends. We went to a murder mystery...and I was killed...

Leading up to the big night, there was much confusion. My friends were getting emails about the event and I was not getting anything. I messaged the number and received a part the next day of “Milly”. Ok, that was cool. It also explained how the character should be dressed—my character was “going to a Broadway play”.

With just a few days before the event took place, I didn’t have time to get something online or go shopping. Two days before the event, there seemed to be a mix up with emails again and I received an email and was to play the role of “Jackie”. Now I was confused. So I was playing two separate people?

Anyway, after a few calls and emails, it was discovered there were two of us named Trinity on the cast list. What are the odds? And the other Trinity was going to be Milly.

So the night came, and we all managed to find something to wear. Me...I was on a mission to meet the other Trinity.

As the night began, we received envelopes with the notes to get through the first act. Unfortunately, “Milly” never made it. After some questioning and a quick search, we found out there was no Trinity Green. I think someone messed up my last name and inadvertently gave me two parts.

The first act was pretty much meeting everyone and establishing the conflict. My character was the director of the play that evening, and I had stepped on everyone’s toes to get there. So people did not like me. My part included having a long lost daughter and being married to the best actress ever. My producer yelled at me about how I screwed her over—yes, actually yelled at me. I denied a raise for the orchestra and wouldn’t cast an out of her prime actress so that caused more friction. The friend playing the talent scout hit her head on the sink—for real—because that was listed in her character profile. Wow! Now that’s committed!

In the second act I learned I was going to die. We learned that I was divorcing my wife, my drug dealer was giving me placebos, the orchestra was going to protest, and the producer still hated me. The sleazy talent scout was after my daughter, some black jack dealer was basically stalking my soon to be ex, and the usher was giving private tours for cash—and not sharing with me.

Everyone clearly disliked me. So I was taken up to the opera house and murdered. They had a blood spattered suit that I wore and I laid on a rug covered with blood.

There was a scream and everyone came running upstairs. There was a lot of commotion, and they were poking me.

In the final act everyone was trying to figure out who killed me. Then it came to the final confessions. Everyone had fingered the producer as the murderer, but they were wrong.

After learning my soon to be ex was mad I wasn’t giving her any money in the divorce, it turned out that my daughter was not my daughter—she just said she was in hopes to have an in into the acting world, I screwed over the producer and stole her ideas, and the list went on of all the wrong-doings.

It all came down to a musician who fell for my wife and decided to kill me so my wife would get all the money and then run off with the musician. Nobody had pointed a finger at this guy.

Overall, it was a fun night. The characters won awards for best improv, best actress went to the talent agent who now had a real goose egg on her forehead, another was for best dressed, and there were more.

Granted, I felt it wasn’t well organized, but it turned out to be a great night with lots of fun and laughter. And we all took our well dressed selves to the bar afterward. I can’t remember the last time I drank that much. Thankfully, I didn’t feel too bad the next morning.

I highly recommend going to a murder mystery. It was a ton of fun that I won’t soon forget.