By Shelley Widhalm
The Surveyor

If you like the idea of a wedding but don’t have a wedding to go to this year, then Moon Theatre Co. has your ticket.

The Berthoud theater company will host auditions this weekend for a murder mystery dinner theater performance of “I’m Getting Murdered in the Morning,” by Lee Muellere. The performance will be over two weekends on Oct. 20-22 and Oct. 27-28 and will be the fifth murder mystery presented by the theater company. The company is an all-volunteer, non-union and nonprofit company founded in 2008 that performs dinner theaters, plays, comedies, musicals and reader’s theaters.

“Everybody loves a wedding. They get a wedding and murder together, which is pretty much a home run,” said Kathleen Gruman, co-director and board member of the Moon Theatre Co. “We like this playwright, because it’s clever scripts, there are lots of fun things and there are lots of puns, which is fun when you’re doing a murder mystery.”

Muellere tells the story of a mysterious man getting killed on the dance floor during the garter toss at Brenda and Eddie’s wedding reception, but both the groom’s and bride’s sides have plenty of secrets they don’t want to reveal, as described in the audition call sheet.

The auditions will be for 10 characters, the bride and the groom, the father of the bride, the mother of the bride, the mother of the groom, the best man, the maid of honor, the disc jockey, the society columnist and the police detective.

“There is no lead. Even the bride and groom I wouldn’t consider the leads,” said Pam Strahan, co-director and board treasurer of the Moon Theatre Co. “Everyone has equal weight.”

The murder mystery has an additional three minor roles critical to the plot but that has minimal memorization, which is great for someone new to theater or who has limited availability.

“If you want to do theater and don’t want to memorize lines, it’s a great way to get started,” Gruman said.

During the performance, the actors will be able to interact with the audience seated in a “reception area,” which will serve as the set design. The atmosphere will be that of a wedding reception with a typical bride and groom’s table. The audience will be able to take part in solving the mystery as they enjoy an Italian dinner and wedding cake for dessert.

“It’s a lot of fun for the actors because they can use their improv skills,” Strahan said, adding that in a typical play, actors don’t tend to interact with the audience. “With this, they’re amongst the audience, ad-libbing and doing improv.”

Actors are asked to be prepared to do a cold reading from the script and to bring a theatrical resume and headshot if they have one. They will be given a synopsis of the character they want to perform and a cutting from the script, then asked to go on stage to show their skills. They also will be asked to fill out a form going over rehearsal dates and any conflicts.

“We’re welcoming of all identities and backgrounds,” Strahan said. “You can have a lot of experience and have done a lot of shows, or this can be your first one.”
Auditions will be 6:30-8:30 p.m. Aug. 19 and 1-3 p.m. Aug. 20 at the Berthoud Activity Hall, 619 N. Fourth St. Rehearsals will start Sept. 5 and will be 6:30-9 p.m. three days a week.

The show will be performed at two different locations, Berthoud Activity Hall with access to a cash wine bar and New Freedom Outreach Center, 250 Mountain Ave., which is ADA accessible.

“This tends to be the biggest show of the season, and we tend to sell out,” Strahan said.

The Friday shows on Oct. 20 and Oct. 27 will be at New Freedom Outreach Center with doors opening at 6 p.m. The shows on Saturday will be Oct. 21 and 28 at Berthoud Activity Hall and a matinee also will be held there at 1 p.m. Oct. 22.

“People seem to enjoy coming and getting fed at the same time,” Gruman said. “They can expect a really fun evening. They get fed. They get entertained. They come away thinking it was a really good experience.”

For more details about Moon Theatre Co., visit https://moon-theatre.com.