Detective stories are a time-honored tradition, and thanks to the film noir movie genre, they transition seamlessly to the stage. This weekend, Capital University Theatre will bring Dr. Bill Kennedy’s Murder Can Be Deadly: A Mack Guffin Mystery to the Cabaret Theatre.
When the show opens, Mack Guffin’s partner, Nick Duggar, has been murdered the night before. While simultaneously juggling other cases and being a suspect for the crime himself, Mack must attempt to find his friend’s killer.
Christos Ioannou, a first-year political science major, plays Mack Guffin. Murder Can Be Deadly is Ioannou’s first play at Capital — actually, it will be his first time acting since the fourth grade.
“I don’t know how that happened, honestly,” he said. “I decided to try out for something here, and it ended up working out pretty well.”
Although it was intimidating at first to be alongside people who have been performing for years, Ioannou has felt incredibly welcomed during the entire process. He said that rehearsals have gone smoothly so far — aside from memorably breaking a table during the first practice.
Christina Everett, another first-year student, said she found a home within the cast. Everett saw audition dates for the play on Stall Talks, and since she loved theatre in high school, she decided to give it a try. Even though rehearsals have exhausted her, she hasn’t regretted the decision at all.
Currently, Everett’s major is undeclared, but her participation in Murder Can Be Deadly has led her to seriously consider film and media production — she has courses picked out for next semester already.
Murder Can Be Deadly will be junior Michaela Clem Jacobs’ sixth cabaret show. A theatre studies major, she cherishes the environment created by productions. Because a lot of the same people are involved in each one, they form incredibly close friendships.
Tech week, although it does involve grueling rehearsals, is Clem Jacobs’ favorite part of the rehearsal process.
“It’s just so cool to see everything that we’ve been working really hard on be a show,” she said.
Clem Jacobs enjoys being a character that can make audiences laugh, which she will aim to do as she plays Lady Evelyn Despare this weekend.
The show will be performed in the Cabaret Theatre this Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 8 p.m., with a matinee Sunday at 2 p.m.
