Locals show huge ‘Taste for Murder’

It was a murderously good time for all as Fort Frances Little Theatre wrapped up its second show of the season Saturday, “A Taste for Murder–A Deadly Birthday Party,” at Emidio’s Garden Restaurant here.
Set in a 1927 Chicago speak-easy, the crew of “A Taste for Murder” staged six shows over a two-week period.
“Out of the six shows, four of them sold out,” noted director Mark Elliott, who also wrote the interactive plot and played the role of FBI agent “Nestor Elliott.”
“Of the remaining two, one show was eight people away from being full,” he added. “We actually had to turn people away, which was a new experience for me.”
The play also was a new experience in two ways for Emidio’s owner Debbie Kempf, who made her Little Theatre debut both as a host and as one of the play’s main characters, “Maria Constiago.”
“As a host, it was awesome. I thoroughly enjoyed myself,” she said. “As an actor. . . well, I just had too much fun.”
To help keep the show fresh each night, Elliott picked a different murderer by drawing names out of hat.
“I didn’t do it until the play was almost over,” he said, keeping it a secret from the other actors.
“Each one had an ending planned out and knew what to do if they became the murderer,” he added. “They just didn’t know which night it would be.”
Kempf said the reaction from the audience was excellent, noting she was really impressed with the way people got involved in the interactive part of the murder mystery, particularly how they dressed in the “Roaring 20s” style.
“From a guest’s perspective, you didn’t have to be involved but you couldn’t help but be involved,” she said.
Briana Boldero, Dan Merritt, Lew Kempf, Adia Huss-Solomon, and Mike Sovereign rounded out the rest of the main characters. But Elliott also said he owed a debt of thanks to the staff at Emidio’s for providing the supporting cast.
“I’ve never seen a group of people get so involved so easily,” he said. “The waitresses, who were just asked to work for the evening, went out and rented costumes on their own initiative and got right into the play.
“They created characters I didn’t even think of,” he remarked. “And the crowd loved them–they even thought they might be the murderers.”
“One of them was working double shifts, the other one was working two jobs, and they were both here every night regardless,” added Kempf. “They did have fun.”
Elliott and Kempf were both looking at making a play at Emidio’s an annual event although not necessarily an interactive murder-mystery. Elliott said he was toying with the idea of doing a “radio play” next year where there is no set stage or set–just actors, microphones, and a sound effects person to bring the story to life.
“I was talking with Lew [Kempf] and he seemed fairly interested with the idea,” Elliott said. “He even brought up the idea of getting the script to an old 1940s radio show.
“But I’m not sure what we’ll do,” he added. “We have plenty of time to plan for it.”