On Thursday, Sept. 11, the University of New Mexico Student Activities Center hosted a Hollywood Murder Mystery with MISSION IMPROVable, a touring comedy improv team, in the Student Union Building.
The interactable performance took place at the fictional retirement party of actor Tom Cruise, where the star is tragically murdered. Audience members were given name tags designating them as various celebrities and pop culture figures, such as Zendaya, John Cena, Oprah Winfrey and Bigfoot. Guests were tasked with solving the murder of Cruise through various clues and improv games.
Two detectives — Senior Detective Schwarz and Junior Detective Fitzpatrick — were the stars and hosts of the show, riffing with audience members and guiding them through classic improv comedy games. Audience members sought to solve the case and prove their innocence, as well as help Fitzpatrick solve his first murder and reach full detective status.
Audience members, referred to by their celebrity aliases, were invited up for group interrogation, where they were asked to answer questions from other audience members one word at a time, one word per person.
Attendees also collaborated on a police sketch of the subject, with each member of the table groups tasked with drawing one physical feature of the subject, then the drawing was passed to the next person.
At the conclusion of the evening, table teams wrote down which celebrity they thought committed the murder based on the evidence and why. The three teams that were the most correct were awarded prizes.
One audience member, UNM freshman Vick Kinney, said that he enjoyed the show’s comedy, as well as its emphasis on audience participation and engagement.
“I loved the jokes. Especially (Fitzpatrick’s) references. Being around and hearing all the celebrity jokes was just kind of silly,” Kinney said. “I did like how they had name tags because it felt more inclusive.”
Performer Jacki Schwarz, who portrayed Detective Schwarz, said the celebrity theming provided a good way to engage a large crowd.
“A lot of the times when you go to a murder mystery, if you’ve been to a dinner detective or something like that, it’s usually going to be a smaller group. You’re going to have a restaurant filled with like maybe, tops, 30 people,” Schwarz said. “When you do a classic murder mystery you have the butler, the maid, things like that, but you quickly run out of roles for people to play when you have like 200 people. So we got around that by making a fake celebrity party.”
Performer Aaron Fitzpatrick, who portrayed Detective Fitzpatrick, said everyone loves being a celebrity, especially the attendee who portrayed John Cena.
MISSION IMPROVable will be performing another event in the SUB; the event “Hired” is a game show about finding jobs and will be held on Thursday, Sept. 18.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
Attending events such as the Hollywood Murder Mystery is a way to meet people, have fun with friends and provide support for future events, Schwarz said.
“At worst, you might get a free piece of pizza. Keep supporting the live stuff at your schools, because that’s how we keep live entertainment out there,” Schwarz said. “And that’s how you guys get a chance to see a lot of awesome things for free. Or, at least, a part of whatever you’re paying (in tuition).”
Addison Fulton is the culture editor for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at culture@dailylobo.com or on X @dailylobo
