Colonel Mustard? The study? With the rope? Since 1949, children and adults have played the game of Clue. Centered on a murder mystery plot, clue after clue, the excitement builds as players try to be the first to solve the puzzle and win the game. This Saturday, Weber State University students will be able to participate in a similar way with A Night of Murder Mystery: Sweet Revenge.
This will not be a typical dinner theater event that mimics the game of Clue, but is intended to take participants back to the 1920s. The Davis campus’ ballroom will be transformed into a speakeasy with a murder mystery twist.
“The speakeasy theme, with it being undercover and secretive, fits well with the murder mystery,” said McKell Day, traditional student programmer for the Davis campus.
Day, who is also one of the event coordinators, said she is excited that the traditional and nontraditional students could team up to give students of different backgrounds the chance to mingle in a non-classroom setting.
These two campus programs are focusing on hosting big events such as this one, the intention being to bring students from one campus to another in order to achieve a sense of WSU as a whole, not divided by one campus or the other.
Day said she hopes that as people walk into the ballroom, they will feel like they’re a scene from this year’s film of “The Great Gatsby.” Audio Performance, based out of Salt Lake City, will provide the music, lighting and sound to bring the 1920s feel to life.
Participants are encouraged to dress in 1920s style to add to the atmosphere and fun, but it is not required. The event will be catered, with desserts and mocktails to add to the overall theme of the evening.
“There will be a lot of space around for people to relax and enjoy their dessert; there will be a dance floor in the middle, and places for people to sit and watch and try to solve the murder mystery if they want,” Day said.
A photo booth will be set up, complete with props such as fedoras for the men and feather boas for the women for those who choose not to dress up.
The idea of more future costume events or dances has been well received by a lot of students, Day said.
“It would be nice to see a younger crowd as opposed to the older people I was with at the last dinner theater I went to, “ said Lola Moli, a junior studying criminal justice and the diversity vice president at WSU.
This will be Moli’s second dinner mystery event, and she said this event will be different from the last one in that the crowd comprised older people and “it wasn’t very fun.”
That is exactly the perception that Day is trying to change. She said she is doing her best to make sure this event has plenty of options to keep everyone entertained. This year, the program has not had a marketing team to work with, so the event organizers have done all the advertising and marketing.
“The marketing and advertising has been the biggest challenge for getting this event together,” said Kenzie Bushman, co-coordinator and traditional student programmer for the Davis campus.
In order for the event to be successful, it needs to sell 75 tickets.
“Tickets are selling pretty fast,” Day said.
Tickets can be purchased at the Student Involvement and Leadership Office in Building D3 at the Davis campus for $5 per person. The event is open to the public, but a WSU student must make the ticket purchases.
