Student Entertainment Committee hosts murder mystery dinner in Union

12/02/08 - An aging, washed up actress was fatally poisoned last night at the premiere party for the new motion picture "Attack of the Slinky People."That, at least, was the premise of the show put on last night in the University of Rhode Island Memorial Union ballroom by five members of the Connecticut-based Chester Hadlyme Mystery Party acting group.

The group stages interactive comedy/mystery shows in which the actors mingle in character with the audience, who witness a murder and attempt to discern the identity of the killer.

The first of the characters, "Freddy Goldfarb," played by Paul Lombardo, is the lustful third-rate producer and director responsible for the film.

"Annie Day," played by Jean DeGrooth, is an aging ex-child star and rich widow rediscovered by Goldfarb to star in his movie.

The character of "M.T. Johnson," interpreted by Louis Querido, is Goldfarb's slimy publicity agent.

Marlene Newman played "Pat Poole," Goldfarb's assistant and an aspiring actress, passed over by Goldfarb for the leading role in his film.

Michael Sayers portrayed "Chester Hadlyme," a prominent detective conveniently on hand to solve the mystery.

Throughout the roughly hour-long event, the five actors circulated among groups of seated students, dropping hints and staging occasional confrontations with one another.

The evening was punctuated by blood-curdling screams as Lombardo asked students to audition for roles in his horror movies, eliciting laughter from the 30 or so students present.

Freshman Katelyn Guest attended with friends Kristi Desepoli and Elena Dempsey, also freshmen, and all three had positive things to say about the event.

"It's interesting, different," Guest said. "I like it."

Although they later changed their minds, the three also agreed early in the show that the character of Goldfarb was the killer, because, in Guest's words, "where would he have got the inspiration for all his movies if he didn't kill someone?"

Senior Francis Hiraldo, who attended the event to write a review for a communications class, also said he liked the show.

"I think it's pretty nice how they get everybody involved...and the food helps too," Hiraldo said. URI's Dining Services catered a buffet-style dinner which was included in the $5 admission.

DeGrooth's character received the fatal poison midway through the show when the cast and audience raised their cups in a toast to the film.

A protracted death scene ensued, with DeGrooth coughing and emitting shrill whooping sounds before staggering behind a curtain to die.

Sayers' detective followed DeGrooth, reemerging to announce to the audience that the actress had been murdered, and that one of the other three was responsible.

The four remaining characters then began to circulate again, stopping at each table to answer questions.

Finally, audience members were asked to submit their one of only two audience members to directly deduce the killer's identity, said that she enjoyed the show.

"It was fun, a good thing to do before finals," Carlone said, and added that it felt good to win.

The Student Entertainment Council sponsored the show as part of Winterfest, their weeklong series of events.

Junior Meghan Couture, SEC's public relations coordinator, said that she thought the event was a success.

"It went pretty well, I think the actors did a really good job," Couture said.

Couture also said she was not discouraged by the level of attendance, with over half of the 20 tables empty.

"I think we did pretty well considering the price and all that," she said.