Trademark Presents New Murder Mystery THE REUNION

Trademark Theater begins its 2024-2025 season with the world premiere of a raucously funny murder mystery that will at once have audiences sitting on the edge of their seats and rolling with laughter. Think “The Breakfast Club” meets “Knives Out.” THE REUNION is  a fast-paced meta-narrative infused with pop culture, wrapped in a straight-up whodunit. 

Written and directed by Trademark's Tyler Michaels King, and Tyler Mills, THE REUNION draws from Michaels King and Mills' deep roots in the Twin Cities improv and traditional theater communities. The fully scripted show began during the depths of the pandemic lockdown when creators and audiences alike were looking for an escape in comedy. THE REUNION started as silly, broad character sketches between the long-time friends and collaborators, which in 2021 became an in-person workshop with a combination of theater actors and HUGE Theater improvisors. Characters were created, destroyed and the story was refined for the stage long before pen had ever been put to paper.

“Developing characters and plot points through improvisation rather than writing became a huge gift to our process,” says Michaels King. “It led to richer characters, funnier moments and more complexity, all of which are so useful to the murder mystery genre. When you start without script pages, actors have to play on instinct, which creates the space for truly powerful (or, in our case, hilarious!) moments. More than anything, it expanded our idea of what this show could be.” 

Those early improv sessions with some of the Twin Cities' best comedic minds helped King and Mills distill their ideas and craft some serious one-liners. Fast forward a year and a half later, and King and Mills once again came together with some of the original actors and improvisers, but this time they brought with them a full-fledged script and a handful of stage actors to round out the troupe. 

“One of the most rewarding and challenging things about writing a murder mystery is that everything that happens in the script is intimately connected,” says Mills. “There are many different threads that need to be kept taut for the mystery aspect of the show to work. At times, this made the script feel like a difficult puzzle to solve, but it was extremely satisfying when you found a good solution. Some of the best moments of the show were born out of this struggle.”

“It's been so fun to build this play with the two Tylers,” says MJ Matheson, one of the featured actors in the production. “And to see some of the choices I made in that first improv workshop become a part of the world premiere? That's really special. I think we all feel a sense of ownership of the play because of that.” 

THE REUNION features the talented cast of of Sasha Andreev (recently seen in Latté Da's Falsettos), Janely Rodriguez (Children's Theater Company acting company member), MJ Matheson (local stand-up comedian), Michael Terrell Brown, Chris Hayhurst, Katy Kessler, and Emma Schuld and understudies Marguerite Arbogast and Davis Brinker.

A group of old high school friends gathers for a murder mystery game night. The evening starts out with costumes, drinks, and a thrilling story featuring dead wives, missing sons, and secret societies. But once the game gets going, the host is mysteriously murdered. Like, actually murdered…

Is it all part of some elaborate, nefarious crime? Or is it some bizarre accident? Did someone spike the punch? Is the gun even real? Why does the blood taste like chocolate?! Most importantly: who's out to get who? As old relationships fray and secrets are revealed, the group must keep playing to figure out the mystery behind the mystery. 

“I'm of the belief that theater's primary function should be entertainment. It should bring a sense of joy, of pleasure, of relief. I feel that doubly so in our current political, social, and economic climate. We need to laugh! We need a sense of relief, of escape. This show is perfectly suited to give our audiences that kind of experience. It should feel like a weekend hangout– come and see your friends in fun play, spend a few hours at the theater, and giggle with us. The stakes aren't any higher than that. It's just a good time.” 

INFORMATION

THE REUNION will run at the Gremlin Theater from September 19th to October 12th. Opening night is on Saturday, September 21 with three special talk-back performances scheduled for September 22nd,  September 29th, and October 6th.
Tickets are on sale at: https://bit.ly/thereuniontix
More info at: https://www.trademarktheater.org/thereunion

ABOUT TRADEMARK THEATER

Founded in 2017, TRADEMARKTHEATER is entering its seventh season of presenting bold, new theatrical works in the vibrant Twin Cities arts community. Trademark's mission seeks to create, develop, and produce original theatrical works in Minnesota by staging innovative productions for adventurous local audiences. Our non-profit theater is committed to serving both theater-goers and artists by commissioning and fostering new plays created by emerging playwrights, composer/lyricists, and theater-makers. It's our vision at Trademark to become the new works hub of the midwest, welcoming artists from across the country to workshop and produce their work on our stages, while also sharing our local talent with other communities by supporting and empowering local theater-makers to create new works. 

For more information, visit www.trademarktheater.org.

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