"A puzzle but you don't know what the final piece will reveal..."

This Friday October 8th, CSz Philadelphia presents the fourth installment of MURDER MANOR: AN IMPROVISED GAME OF CLUE. (The show has been a SOLD OUT hit, be sure to get your tickets soon!) The show was created by Kristin Finger (above left), who also plays the flibbertigibbet-y Mrs. Peacock. In October 2020, we moved the show online and incorporated a new format that included a Narrator/Host, played by fellow ComedySportz Player and murder mystery maven, Sarah LeClair (above right).

For this live re-statgng, the two decided to combine their favorite elements of the past shows and create a brand new one.

Executive Director Don Montrey sat with the two over Zoom and tea to talk about the show and their love of murder mysteries.

Don Montrey (DM): Why murder mysteries? What draws you to them?

Sarah LeClair (SL): I grew up with Jessica Fletcher on the TV and a Nancy Drew novel in my hands.

Kristin Finger (KF): That’s so funny you say that. I can remember from a young age of 9 watching Murder, She Wrote and The Father Dowling Mysteries and wishing I could solve murder mysteries right alongside Jessica Fletcher, Father Dowling and Sister Stephanie. I also loved the Choose Your Own Adventure books that had you solving a mystery as you read…

DM: The Cave of Time!

KF: Yes! So if you’d choose to jump to chapter 5 you’d miss interviewing certain characters, and therefore might change the chances of you figuring it all out in the end. It’s the hunt, the clue gathering that excites me most. It’s so fun to put together all the pieces like a puzzle, but in this case it’s a puzzle you don’t know what the final piece will reveal!

SL:  There’s an extra layer of engagement in a mystery - always wondering if you’re picking up on the clues or distracted by the red herrings - and a rewarding sense of accomplishment when you figure it out for yourself.

DM: So using all of that source material, how are you trying to bring it to the stage show?

SL: The wonderful part about a staged show means that we can tap into the enthusiasm for armchair sleuthing, live, in a participatory way.  We have you there in the audience, and we are able to engage with you and volunteer your opinions as the show unfolds.

Our show is improvised off of the famous mystery solving board game (that was also a staple of my childhood), so we’re leaning towards replicating that idea of “process of elimination.”  We hear their stories, alibis, back relationships, and start to narrow down which of the suspects we think is most likely to have done the crime.

KF: Just like most tv shows, we have a set structure that we follow each performance so we can get from point A to B, eventually C, D, E, and finally the end. It’s almost like having a map for a road trip, but not knowing all the stops and adventures we’ll get up to along the way.

Prateekshit Pandey, Kristin Finger, and Alli Soowal

DM: You both mentioned Murder, She Wrote, what other books or movies have influenced you and this show?

SL: We also watched a lot of Unsolved Mysteries…

KF: Oh good one.

SL: Right? I also read all the typical thriller-ish books when I was growing up, Christopher Pike novels and the like. I also had a strong affinity for the British classics, so Sherlock Holmes mysteries and the works of Agatha Christie were a big part of my canon.

DM: You kept your books in a canon?

SL: If you mean a military weapon, yes.

KF: When I was 11 I saw Clue for the first time and instantly became OBSESSED! The heightened state that each character was in, just made the comedy so much more enjoyable. I’d watch it over and over again! I think by age 15 I had it memorized and even made friends of mine do scenes from it in costumes.

DM: Which is essentially what you are doing now.

KF: Exactly, but improvised! I have also been in love with ensemble casts of characters like Clue, but also in movies like The Goonies and The Burbs’, which both have an eclectic cast of characters that were so different from each other, but had to bond together to solve a mystery.

SL: And starred Corey Feldman.

DM: So this is an improvised show but it doesn’t look like an improvised show with two bentwood chairs and a back wall, talk about the design of the set and costumes.

KF: The show is still low tech, some specific lighting, set pieces, some fun music and sounds, but I prefer relying on the performers' magic rather than too many special effects. The costumes however are lots of fun! Each performer has been assigned a character name pertaining to the board game and movie, Clue, therefore each will be prominently in the color pertaining to their character. Since it’s a fancy dinner party, each actor will be dressed to impress! Lots of suits, dresses and fascinators!

SL: The tech elements really add to the mood of the show. We had an online version, that wasn’t as board game-focused, and it was my favorite project to work on in our time of Zoom-based theater. That had a million transitions and cues and technical components.

But for our live show, we get to return to the aspects of theater that are the most captivating - people’s body language and interactions.

DM: Final question - What is special about this show? What do you want people to feel after watching it?

KF: One of my favorite things about this show is since it’s fully improvised, there is so much room for the performers to be inventive, and create magic together. I am always inspired at the genius of this cast. It’s amazing to watch each performer take the audiences suggestions and turn them into such a thorough and impressive story, it’s almost impossible to believe it’s improvised and I'm in it.

SL: Moreover, it’s a COMEDY show as well as a mystery. The performers are working as a team to create this funny and ridiculous plot based on audience suggestions. It’s hilarious and delightful to watch it unfold. You could (and should) see it every performance and you will come away with a different experience each and every time.

KF: My goal is that the audience leaves feeling like they were a part of the show, and that they helped solve the Murder Mystery from their seats just as I wanted to solve the mysteries with Jessica Fletcher.

DM: Or Corey Feldman.

KF: Or Corey Feldman.

SL: Wait, which Corey was he?

Content edited for fun.

Prateekshit Pandey, Kelsey Hébert, and David Dritsas