Although some seasoned murder mystery attendees got what they expected at “The Wreck of the Enormous: A Murder Mystery of Titanic Proportion!” for some rookies, their experience was as unexpected as the murderer’s identity.
The event, which took place Thursday in the Ohio Union Performance Hall, was sponsored by the Ohio Union Activities Board and presented by Cloak & Dagger Dinner Theatre.
The guests at the event were dressed in cocktail attire and pretended to be guests aboard the RMS Enormous. About 330 people attended.
About five minutes after the show started, a shot rang out throughout the performance hall, marking the start of the murder mystery. The cast from Cloak and Dagger spent the rest of the evening engaging the audience and trying to get them to guess the identity of the murderer. Throughout the night, guests were served salad, a main course and dessert. Toward the end of the show, guests aboard the ship were allowed to ask the cast questions.
“Watching them deal with the questions (was) the funniest bit of the night,” said Sarah Buffer, a third-year in health sciences.
Some attendees said the comedy was unexpected.
“It was a good time,” said Christine Copa, a fourth-year in chemical engineering. “I didn’t expect it to be so much comedy … or singing.”
Many songs and jokes were included in the performance as the crew of the RMS Enormous tried to solve the mystery of who had killed the band leader on the ship. The captain of the ship was repeatedly sneaking drinks out of a flask and pretended to be drunk.
It happened the band leader faked his own death, an ending that Erin Mischler, a fourth-year in international studies and Italian, closely predicted. Mischler won a Cloak and Dagger Dinner Theatre Gift Certificate.
Many references to the Titanic and Ohio State were made throughout the night. Before the surprise ending was delivered on stage, a cast member caught the guests’ attention shouting, “O-H!” There was a resounding “I-O!” response.
The atmosphere before the program began was loud and lively. Many guests seemed to be anticipating an evening filled with entertainment.
“I’m really excited,” said Nick Ruhrkraut, a third-year in biochemistry and film studies, before the show. “I’ve always wanted to come to one,” he said referring to the murder mystery performance.
The event seemed to live up to the expectations of Melissa Gusching, a third-year in dentistry, who said she expected “fine dining and fine entertainment.”
OUAB did not disclose the cost of the event. Tickets were sold out and free to students with a valid BuckID.
