Okotoks playwright staging new murder mystery musical

Musical comedy meets whodunit at a renowned playwright's upcoming production.

Okotoks-based musician Maren Ord Burnham's latest play, The Night of the Murder, kicks off this weekend for four nights of laughs, gasps and mishaps.

The Night of the Murder follows a married couple that, after trying to spice up their relationship, end up getting much more than they bargained for, explained Ord Burnham.

"They've just realized that they are in a very boring marriage, and so they want to be a little more spontaneous," she said of the play's main characters Kate and Steve.

That spontaneity leads the two to pretend to be people that they're not to get on to a private boat party, where they find themselves surrounded by a bizarre assortment of characters who Ord Burnham added are inspired by the outlandish cast of popular sitcom Arrested Development.

"Once they're there, they are kind of like, 'what did we do?' cause they realize they're surrounded by some pretty wacky people, and at first it all kind of seems funny until they realize everybody on this boat has it out for this one person," she said.

"And so they start by making up their own little secret murder mystery game between each other, and it all goes wrong when somebody actually gets murdered."

It's up to the audience to pay close attention to the many subtle hints and clues throughout the play and try to figure out who the murderer is before the reveal.

"There's gonna be a ton of red herrings," said Ord Burnham, who is sure that the play will trick those in the audience. 

Written and composed by Ord Burnham, the play marks the longtime musician's fourth theatrical production.

"I've only really been doing writing musicals for the last 10 or so years," said Ord Burnham, whose previous productions include Feather Pen Fairy Tales and The Gardener.

Having been a musician for most of her life, writing and composing musicals comes naturally to Ord Burnham, who has been nominated for a Juno Award and won a Canadian Radio Music Award.

"When I was 12 I wrote my first song, and then from there I had a career as a singer-songwriter through my teenage life," said Ord Burnham. "Spent a lot of time touring, mostly North America, did some recording in England and New York... and that gave me a ton of experience, just being on stage a lot and and being in the studio sitting by like these world-renowned producers and music engineers."

That experience has come in handy now that she's an accomplished playwright.

"My first live musical theatre experience was when I was 15 and I remember walking away from that going 'I want to write a musical someday' obviously having no experience and no idea what that means," she said.

"Now I use a lot of that knowledge in my own writing and my own production."

The Night of the Murder is being staged at the Glenmore Christian Academy Theatre in southwest Calgary for a four-show run kicking off on March 28 and 29 and wrapping up on April 4 and 5. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and showtime is at 7. 

Tickets are available on Eventbrite.