Mallory Sabetodos Vance produced Patron’s Pick for Murder which was a truly interactive “who done it” at the 2018 Fringe Festival. Patrons met outside the Firehouse Museum behind the Shakes and it was in this pre-show quay that the cast mingled with patrons. The mystery was already a foot. Michelle Papaycik played the part of an actress in a show called “Michelle and Lars go to Mars“. This was clearly a spoof of some of the Fringe’s worst possible shows. Rabid fringe fans mingled with actresses and self appointed theater critics. A simple 2 by 4 door frame was the entrance to the main staging area up on a slight hill under a huge live oak tree. I focused my attention on the line of patrons as they mingled with the cast.
Bikini Katie was the guest star for this press preview and she played up the part of being a true diva. A sip from her water bottle resulted in her immediate demise from poison. After this the patrons could interact with the cast asking questions to try and surmise who had killed Katie. Strangely enough you could even ask the corpse for her thoughts, which is a real luxury for a detective to have. As I was sketching, Pam Schwartz was working the crime scene to try and solve the mystery. She is a born detective, but she was not able to solve this crime. The final motive when reveled was quite simple, but I will keep it to myself should you ever have a chance to experience this show for yourself. The show becomes more exciting when you ask the right people the right questions. You would get out of the show what you put into it.