From its first days as a tiny, upstart theater company founded in the middle of a recession, Good Luck Macbeth Theatre Co. has been all about bold moves—and fans are here for it. Today, as the company—whose very name comes from a desire to tempt fate and break longstanding traditions—embarks on ambitious plans to renovate its Midtown building and adjust to a brand-new producing artistic director, Shea King. All the while, it maintains its commitment to brave new works. Its latest production is Murder Mystery at The Mother Regina, an original play written and directed by local performer Angelo “Lily” Lopez, and this may be its bravest work yet.
Bloody slasher stories are nothing new on this stage. This isn’t the first time loyal GLM audiences will have been asked if they’d like to cover up with plastic bags and sit in the “spatter zone.” It’s also not the first time they will hear that a show is for mature audiences only, or warned that scenes of violence or sexual situations will be portrayed. And it’s certainly not unusual to expect gender fluidity or lots of vulgar language to be expressed onstage. But it might, perhaps, contain more of all of the above than any other show before it. Lopez’s Mother Regina is all those things and more, which is why its own ad states, “Seriously, this is not your grandmother’s murder mystery… Insert every trigger warning here.” But if none of this scares you (don’t let it), you’ll experience a night of live theater you likely won’t forget.
Explaining the premise without revealing spoilers is tricky. The story opens on Theo (played by Lopez), a podcaster with a plain-speaking advice show, and a lover (Noah Greenly) with a penchant for shock and awe. A very messy, very bloody murder ensues. Soon after, there’s another, this time at time-worn comedy club/bar/video rental store The Mother Regina, where comedian Perlah Sunshine McGlinn (played by Lily Baran) prepares to repeat her set; a new dancer, Jennie (Sydney Banks), familiarizes herself with a new stage; and Erwin (Maya Wolery), the nonbinary bartender with anxiety about knives, tries to modernize the vibe by concocting purple martinis.
But change is afoot at The Mother Regina. The owner, Reynaldo Ruse (Duane Young), has plans to turn over ownership of the family business — but to whom? Will it be his son, Simon Ruse (Thomas Rao), or popular motivational speaker Kit Clover (Michael Davanzo)? What will happen to Perlah, Erwin, Jennie and the club’s fans, whose lives will all be affected by the changes? And what does Theo have to do with any of this?
Soon, newbie Detective Dela Cruz (Hilal Adem) has a murder to solve, and the Ruse family has a lot of blood to clean up. Like, a lot.
Lopez’s writing of dialogue is impressive, particularly in the first act. It’s funny, snappy and authentic, particularly to young adults. The blood-soaked stage fights are very well done. Did I mention there’s a lot of blood? (I sat in the back row and caught quite a bit of chocolate-scented spatter. I’m told it will wash out.) And the acting is marvelous, particularly from Baran, Davanzo and Lopez.
Yet there are improvements that could be made, and I hope they will, so that the show continues to evolve and maybe even expand its reach. The first act’s writing and performances are so strong, it makes the second act’s sputters more obvious as the actors rush to recite lines without really embodying them. There are loose threads (including one big one, Theo) that never really get tied up. The killer’s reveal is somewhat confusing and tough to buy. Some scenes feel gratuitous and self-congratulatory. And Lopez’s written voice is so strong that the actors aren’t always able to make their lines their own.
Still, there’s no denying the incredible pool of talent found on GLMs stage for the run of Mother Regina, which will absolutely make you laugh and maintain a firm grip on your attention. It’s a show worth seeing, celebrating and supporting.
Murder Mystery at The Mother Regina is onstage at Good Luck Macbeth Theater Co., 124 Taylor St., in Reno Friday Feb. 28 through Saturday, March 15. Tickets are $28, with discounts. For tickets and information, visit https://www.goodluckmacbeth.org/now-showing.html.
We wanted to like it more than we did. None of the “triggers” were problematic, nor was the subject matter. But we found the writing was ALL OVER the place. Rushed, jumbled scenes seem less than “never really getting tied up” and the killer’s reveal bears no resemblance to a logical outcome — there were no bread crumb, hint or dropping that could bring logic to this conclusion. It was like a bunch of talented people had separate fever dreams and wrote them into a script without talking to one another. Maya Woolery’s Erwin was a triumph, but the rest left all of us put out. Love GLM and all it can do — love the talent on the stage. But scripts need more alignment and volume needs more than negligible harmonious content, I’m afraid.