[NEohioPAL] Murder by the Falls: Nursery Crimes: A fundraiser for Chagrin Valley LIttleTheatre

[Margaret Reardon]

Murder by the Falls: Nursery Crimes
Friday September 10 beginning at 7:00 pm
 *The Chagrin Valley Little Theatre will kick off it’s 92nd season this
September with an unprecedented and experimental web-based
fundraiser. Murder by the Falls: “Nursery Crimes” is an online event set
for Friday, September 10, wrapping up with a reception / season kickoff
party on Saturday, September 11. Admission to the online game is $35, with
optional $20 admission to the Saturday night reception.*

*Murder by the Falls* has served as the venerable non-profit’s major
fundraising event for a few decades. The format usually consists of an
original two-act murder mystery / comedy paired with drinks, food, and a
hunt through the shop windows of downtown Chagrin Falls to look for planted
clues, including the interrogation of on-the-street characters. The
pandemic led to the cancellation of this popular event for the first time
in many years last fall.

When it came time to plan ahead for the 2021 edition, the unpredictability
of public health guidelines and questions about audience comfort with close
quarters left the event’s status uncertain. Given the participatory nature
of the usual *Murder by the Falls* format, including mingling with
strangers and crowding around shop windows, it seemed like the show might
not go on.

*However, brother and sister team Andrew and Greta Rothman rose to the
challenge, offering to concoct an online version of the game. Combining
their experience as writers/producers for nine previous Murder by
the Falls shows with Andrew’s technical skills as a computer and
audio-visual professional, the duo have created an ambitious, one-of-a-kind
mix of theater and gameplay.*

Their original story, "Nursery Crimes", involves nursery-rhyme-inspired
characters living in modern day Chagrin Falls. Many of these characters
have a reason to dislike Humperdinck T. Dumpty, who is the co-founding
Editor in Chief of “The Nursery Times” newspaper and the victim in the tale.

*On the evening of September 10 at 7 PM EST, registered players will be
emailed a PDF containing clippings from the fictional “Nursery Times”.
Within these pages will be a dozen keywords for the audience to find - some
hidden in obvious ways and others far less conspicuous. Once a secret word
has been found, the player will enter it into a box on the provided web
page to unlock a recorded scene featuring characters tied to the plot,
including security camera footage, private Zoom meetings, recorded phone
calls, and so on.*

Having revealed the clips, participants will submit a form explaining who
they think killed “Hump” T. Dumpty, how they did it, and what their motive
was. The game officially ends at 12 PM EST on Saturday. The first player or
team to submit the correct (or closest to correct) solution will receive a
cash grand prize, in an amount determined by the overall number of tickets
sold. Tickets to shows in CVLT’s 92nd Season will also be given away as
additional prizes.

*“It’s been like writing and directing an independent film while
simultaneously publishing a newspaper and creating an online escape room
game,” says Mr. Rothman of the challenging production. “There are about
fifty pages of script and twenty-five actors recorded in multiple
locations. It’s elaborate almost to the point of absurdity, but we still
managed to work in some of our trademark awful puns! And since it’s online,
we have no limit on how many people can attend, so we hope it goes a long
way toward getting CVLT back on its feet post-COVID.”*

CVLT will use money generated by *Murder by the Falls* to fund the plays
and musicals scheduled to run in its 2021-22 season, beginning with Jeffrey
Hatcher’s *Holmes & Watson* on September 17th.

*Tickets for Murder by the Falls and all other CVLT productions can be
purchased online at CVLT.org <http://CVLT.org> or via the Box Office at
(440) 247-8955. *

*Box Office Hours are 1-6 Tuesdays through Sunday.*

Chagrin Valley Little Theatre is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit funded through
individual and corporate contributions. Our programming is made possible in
part by the citizens of Cuyahoga Country through Cuyahoga County Arts and
Culture and by state tax dollars allocated by the Ohio Legislature to the
Ohio Arts Council (OAC). The OAC is a state agency that funds and supports
quality arts experiences to strengthen Ohio communities culturally,
educationally, and economically.


-- 
Margaret Reardon

Managing Director

Chagrin Valley Little Theatre
(440) 247-8955
margaret at cvlt.org
http://www.cvlt.org/
40 River Street, Chagrin Falls, OH 44022
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