It was an average, almost forgettable day at the Microtrend corporate office. Employees filtered in, chatting and laughing. But soon talking turned into bickering, and the sound of a gun shot silenced the crowd. Company president Gil Bates lay dead on the floor.
That scene kicked off the Repertory Theater of America’s performance of “Murder.com” Thursday night at McCormick Auditorium. The Baltimore-based troupe made its Northwestern debut before approximately 50 students who worked to untangle a series of mysterious events.
Before the show, the performers gave students name tags and assigned some of them speaking roles. Both troupe members and students played employees at Microtrend, a fictitious computer company based on Microsoft. In the play, high-tech billionaire Gil Bates introduces Murder.com, a Web site capable of solving crimes with the help of user input.
But in the end, students played the lead role in helping to solve the murder mystery. After questioning suspects and conducting an audience poll, they found McCormick freshman Hector Mendoza “guilty” of the crime.
“I’ve never seen anything like this,” said Weinberg senior Flora Lwin. “I like how they got the audience involved.”
Troupe members also emphasized the importance of audience participation.
“The audience has the same if not a larger role than the actors do,” said Bernadette McHugh, troupe manager and actress. “Without (the audience) there wouldn’t be a show. We have a good time because colleges enjoy interactives more than anyone else. They are more willing to jump into action.”
The Repertory Theater troupe also performs at country clubs and dinner theaters nationwide.
“Northwestern is a big university for us,” said McHugh, who plays I.M. Rich. “We go to arts council and small towns. In Nebraska and Kansas we are the only big thing happening for months.”
Speech sophomore Tasha Little, who works in Campus Activities at the Norris University Center, organized the event.
“(The troupe) caught my eye because it is not a Northwestern thespian group and it is interactive,” she said. “This was one of our better events. (The performers) were all funny and kept the audience engaged.”
Actress Erica Vaught, whose roles included computer programmer CD-Wromm, said the show runs differently every night.
“We react to how the audience is acting and improvise,” she said. At one point, cast members danced to the Baha Men song “Who Let the Dogs Out.” They also pulled an audience member on stage to dance alongside Bates.
Vaught attributed the success of Thursday’s show to the students’ enthusiasm.
“Their energy and participation was huge,” she said. “It made it so much better that the audience got into its role.”
Most students said they enjoyed the show.
But Speech freshman Michael Cicetti had a different opinion.
“The style of humor did not strike a chord too well,” he said. “I’m not sure this is the right venue or audience for this troupe.”
After the audience solved the crime, Lee Franceswho played Gil Bates, thanked the audience for its participation.
“You helped us catch the murderer,” he said.
