Whodunit?: Drama Club hosts interactive murder mystery dinner

Senior Mac Hyde staggered through the Thermond Drama Center, choking and gasping for air as blood spattered everywhere. He then collapsed on the stage, as approximately 100 people looked on, motionless.

Normally, Saratoga High students and parents would not sit idly by as someone died in front of them. However, at the Drama Club’s “The Mafia Murders” dinner theater presentation on Nov. 18, it was all part of the show.

After hitman Jimmy “The Gyp” Johnson, played by senior Michael Coe, attempted to shoot mafioso Donato “Baby Face” Brundizzi, played by sophomore Ehrland Hollingsworth, everyone, cast and audience, tried to figure out who had hired the hit.

As suspicions heightened, the drama increased when “Crusher” Joe Genelli, played by Hyde, was brutally murdered. Still, no one knew who the culprit was. Each cast member seemed to have a motive.

Several brutal murders later, the murderer was finally revealed: Donato’s niece, Rita “The Rose” Scallopini, played by sophomore Manini Desai, stabbed Donato, as revenge for the death of her parents from a car bomb he had planted.

The cast wasn’t just the actors, though. It also included bartenders, waiters and members of the audience.

Guests were served a three course pasta meal, catered by Pastaria & Market in Los Gatos. The meal included salad made by junior Laura Hannibal’s mother, and dessert was compliments of the mother of senior Ariella Yendler.

A rarity for the school, this production was interactive. Audience members were able to become a part of the show, conversing with cast members and becoming part of the story.

One such man was pulled onstage and questioned, as to whether he knew anything about the attempted murder of Donato, the Don. The actors joked with him and even took him outside for a “beating.” He came back in a few minutes later with makeup on his face to look like he had truly been beaten up.

Senior Robert Belpasso was also pulled out of the crowd to play an impromptu part of the show.

“The bodyguard was killed and they were looking for a new one, so they pulled me up,” Belpasso said. “The guy looking for the bodyguard pulled a gun out and tried to kill the Don, so I had to protect him.”

The audience members enjoyed the chance to interact with the characters.

“I don’t think Saratoga’s ever had a mob before, until now,” senior Sanjana Chetia said. “It’s a really fun event to go to for everyone.”

The actors also enjoyed the new experience. Because the show required a lot of improvisation, the cast enjoyed much more freedom to develop the plot than a normal show would allow them.

“I got to have one of the more physically active deaths, stumbling through the whole room spouting blood, then die onstage with everyone watching,” Hyde said. “[The show] was interesting. I wish I could have seen more of it from the inside because they had to keep me cooped up in the back.”

No one was free from suspicion. Junior Jason Seo, a waiter, was jokingly called onstage along with the cast. A few adults had suggested he might be the culprit, even though they knew who the real murderer was due to their administrative roles in the drama program.

“Being accused when I was a waiter was very interesting. It was really funny because the people who [accused me] were [assistant principal Karen] Hyde, [drama supporter Cathie] Thermond and [tech teacher] Ken Ochi,” junior Jason Seo said. “Although they knew who [the real killer] was, they decided it would be hilarious to call me up.”

The evening was filled with improvisation and unexpected mishaps, but went very well overall. Those involved were happy with the evening, and hope to make it an annual event. The program raised $900 from the night.

“I guess that’s how theater works,” said junior Gabby Crolla, the “jazzy singer” at the event. “You don’t think it’s gonna work, but in the end it all pulls together.”