When GreenMan Theatre's annual murder mystery opens on February 18, there will be a quintet of actors who have several years of experience with these shows in the cast. Lauren Anders, Tom Hughes, Grace Martinez, Shazad Mehta, and Cynthia Rosati each will be appearing in at least their fourth murder mystery when this year's show, "Here's Looking at You...Dead!", debuts. Carolyn Thomas-Davidoff is directing her sixth murder mystery for GreenMan. Several of the veteran actors recently expressed why these shows appeal to them.
"This style of show has something for everybody-acting, mystery, singing, dancing, and comedy," offered Elmhurst resident Hughes, who is appearing in his fourth GreenMan murder mystery.
Another special aspect of GreenMan Theatre murder mysteries is that they are performed in the round. The dinner theatre audience, seated at tables of ten, are spread around the room. There is a space in the center of the room where much of the action takes place, but characters routinely move about the room among the audience throughout the show. While this can be challenging for some actors, these GreenMan veterans relish the opportunity. "The audience becomes a part of us and we become them. It is all intertwined," proclaimed Rosati, who is also from Elmhurst and appearing in her fifth murder mystery.
Unlike other productions where actors must strictly adhere to the script, GreenMan murder mysteries start with the script but allow the actors to enhance the dialogue throughout the process with improvisation. There is a social hour before each performance where the actors mingle with the crowd in character. Audience members get an advance feeling of the show and may discover clues as to who commits the murder. The audience's reactions to the interaction with the characters often shape the nature of a performance. Elmhurst resident Shazad Mehta, appearing in his sixth GreenMan murder mystery, agreed with this sentiment.
The actors had time to offer their thoughts on the director who has guided them so often. "Carolyn is a very easy person to work with, " Hughes said. "She has an instinctive sense of timing and ability to get the best performance from each actor."
"She is open-minded, fun, encouraging, and accepting, " Rosati added.
"What I really enjoy is that she gives us the freedom to explore our character and really make them the actors' own creation, " Mehta offered. "Carolyn has given me the basic framework to the characters I have played and allowed me to truly make the performance my own."
