At the end of the school year, Calabasas High School’s theater department brought students and guests together for its annual Murder Mystery Night, a two-night interactive dinner theater event filled with comedy, suspense, and audience participation. On May 22 and May 23 at 7 p.m., the Wild West-themed production Wanted: Dead or More Dead transformed the MPR into the fictional Tumbleweed Saloon, where attendees worked to uncover the identity of the murderer before the night ended.

The production was written and directed by students Tyler Bailin and Ariela Papp. According to the program, guests entered a saloon where “things have gone terribly wrong,” and audience members were encouraged to interact with characters and solve the mystery throughout the evening.

The first night of the show revealed Henry Heartsteel as the murderer, while the second night featured Sadie Saddleback as the killer, allowing returning audience members and cast to experience a different outcome each performance.

In addition to the performances, guests were served a full dinner catered by Italia Deli, including house salad, baked ziti al forno with meatballs, and chocolate cake. During the dessert intermission, actors stayed in character while walking around the room and offering clues to audience members.

Sophomore Hudson Masztak, who played Hill Man, said he was excited to stay involved in theater after previous productions ended.

“So, I actually wrote a script myself that didn’t end up getting chosen,” Masztak said. “I knew I wanted to do something after Seussical this year because I remember last year not getting in the cast, and I was missing theater at the end of the year.”

Masztak explained that developing his character required balancing humor with mystery.

“The hard part was that balance between how do I make this guy seem dumb on the outside and smart on the inside,” Masztak said. “But vague enough to where you could misinterpret some of that.”

He also said the smaller cast created a close rehearsal environment.

“I’ve never worked with such a tight-knit group like that before,” Masztak said. “Everyone was so nice.”

Masztak noted that Murder Mystery Night differs from larger mainstage productions because of its smaller scale and interactive setting.

“It’s completely a different environment,” Masztak said. “It’s so much campier, and there’s a lot more freedom because the script is student-written.”

Unlike productions in the PAEC, actors also helped move set pieces and participate in scene transitions.

“We needed to help on the scene transitions as actors,” Masztak said. “I’ve never really needed to do that for a mainstage show before.”

Sophomore Oliver Vaisman served as the assistant producer for the event and helped coordinate rehearsals, technical departments, and scheduling throughout the process.

“The biggest challenges I saw were balancing what me and the producer, Luchiana, were trying to do versus what was expected by other members of the creative team,” Vaisman said.

According to Vaisman, the production team met several times each week to organize rehearsals and solve issues as they came up.

“Every Monday, we would have a creative team meeting,” Vaisman said. “Then we would speak to Mr. Garrett about what day he wanted to have our producer meetings.”

Vaisman explained that the producers acted as the communication bridge between the cast and crew.

“We were helping the crew get the stuff they needed from the cast,” Vaisman said. “We were kind of the messenger.”

One of the most stressful parts of production came shortly before opening night when several issues appeared at once.

“We ended up having a lot of issues with cancellations,” Vaisman said. “We had to open the house on the first night, and we didn’t have enough waiters.”

He also said there were technical and cast-related complications before the show opened.

“We didn’t have enough tables,” Vaisman said. “And then a cast member got sick the day before the show.”

Despite the challenges, Vaisman said seeing the audience reaction made the hard work worthwhile.

“The second night was almost sold out,” Vaisman said. “Everyone was so happy to be there and shocked at all the twists.”

Vaisman also emphasized how unique the production is compared to other school plays because students run nearly every aspect of the event themselves.

“It’s completely student-run,” Vaisman said. “Mr. Garrett’s main involvement is really with the producers and helping funnel the money.”

Sophomore Rachel Lowe worked as the sound engineer for the production and handled music cues, microphones, and sound effects throughout the performances.

Lowe explained that one of the biggest obstacles involved the outdated sound equipment in the MPR.

“The technology in the MPR is very outdated,” Lowe said. “We actually didn’t have mics until the final dress.”

Because microphones arrived so late, actors had little time to rehearse with them before opening night.

“The first night of the show was only the second time the actors had used mics,” Lowe said. “That was pretty difficult.”

Lowe said balancing sound effects and dialogue became especially challenging because some actors spoke quietly while using Western accents.

“This was a very sound effect-heavy show,” Lowe said. “Some of the actors were very quiet, so you couldn’t hear them over the sound effects.”

Even with the technical difficulties, Lowe believed both performances turned out successfully.

“Both nights turned out remarkably well,” Lowe said. “The actors did great, and we had a great crowd.”

She also said the audience reactions showed how invested attendees became in the mystery.

“We got a lot of laughs and a lot of gasps,” Lowe said. “You could hear the crowd gasp when people died.”

The production featured twelve main performers along with student-run lighting, sound, costume, makeup, and stage crews. Characters such as Wesley Clintwood, Dianne Dynamite, Dr. Feelschmcsad, Miles Moneybags, and Crazy Pete helped create a comedic and suspenseful experience throughout the evening.