By Laurel Sharette
With all the sentimentality and nostalgia of a long lost love Justice at the Gold Dust: A Wild West Murder Mystery attempts to take the audience on a journey to the Wild West. Poison Ivy Mysteries, a dinner theater production, written and directed by Annelise Murphy with music by Jeff Parkes is staged at Diamond Lil’s in Salt Lake City and Famous Dave’s in Midvale. Essentially, the town of Silvercrest has a gold mine which the audience is led to believe is exhausted. However, the audience soon learns the gold mine is not actually dormant at which point disputes surface surrounding the ownership of the mine.
I saw the show on a Friday night at Famous Dave’s Restaurant. Upon entering the banquet room you are given a name tag with a fictitious name on it, given appropriate accessories if desired – like a bandana or cowboy hat, asked if you’d like a speaking bit in the show, and shown to your seat. I really like that the crew ascertained whether audience members would like to participate before the show even started. One of the audience members actually memorized his few lines which is pretty cool. Poison Ivy seems to understand that not all audience members want to be included in the show. Plus, the people who did get little bit parts seemed pretty happy to be doing it.
The banquet room is separated from the rest of the restaurant and contributed a nice sense of intimacy. While waiting for everyone to be seated the actors mingle with the audience in character. Acting in a dinner theater show can be difficult – especially considering the improvisational skills required to interact with audience members. All of the actors were up to the challenge and stayed in character, even when a few of the participants at my table got a little feisty. The food is served banquet style and the idea is you have your food and have begun eating by the time the show begins in earnest. The food is what you’d expect from a steak house, albeit a bit on the cold side. It’s served with forks but no knives so I found it a bit hard to eat bone-in chicken breast with any class, but it is a steak house and the show is wild west themed so perhaps it’s meant to foster an even greater sense of cowboy chic.
The program informs the audience “The town of Silvercrest has dried up along with its gold mine. You are traveling through on your way to greener pastures and have stopped at the local watering hole to rest your weary boots.” The performance, much like the town of Silvercrest, is dried up. The show begins with a lackluster musical number and maintains the same monotonous pace throughout. The weariness of this production may have been due to the script, which seems to be constructed over a thin veneer of tired wild west tropes – the lusty barmaid, the crooked mayor, the ingénue, the tomboy, the leading man, and the town drunk are all present. The lusty barmaid, by the name of Rose Doolan is played by Sonja Jensen. She has a pretty decent singing voice, but her performance lacks enthusiasm.
The crooked Mayor – Duke Mallory – is played by Scott Stone. I really liked Scott’s voice and his portrayal of a statesman. Oftentimes, when the character is attempting diplomacy, he has the confident phony smile of a seasoned politician. Scott is also a joy to interact with during the portions of the show when the cast mingles with the audience. The Mayor’s unhappy wife, Belle Mallory, is played by Tiffani Barney. Her performance lacks depth and most of the time she’s onstage she just looks confused. Whether the blame belongs on the shoulders of the director or the actress is unknown.
Hope Hartman plays Calamity Janet. She is the only actor in the show who seemed to have any clear objectives. She is a great actress and a talented singer. I especially like her song “Woman Enough to Be Your Gal.” She brings complexity to a part that could’ve been easily been misunderstood or overacted. The town’s upstanding young man, Jesse Joe James, who has a hankering to be the town sheriff and a heart of gold, is performed by Mark Bell. While Mark’s performance doesn’t necessarily stand out he imbues Jesse Joe James with a kind of earnest charm. Jeremy Tritchler plays the town doctor turned drunk – Doc Zeke Holyday. Jeremy is a good entertainer, although he appears to have never been drunk as his portrayal of a drunk is cartoonish at best. For a family show, this is probably appropriate anyway.
For the most part the acting is flat and the pacing is off. I attribute these faults to the director. With a cast of only six the ensemble seems perfectly capable of keeping the show together, but the timing is all wrong and the show really drags. There are also multiple holes in the plot – one of which involves Rose Doolan’s husband dying of black lung when he worked in a gold mine, not a coal mine.
Toward the end of the show the audience gets the opportunity to interrogate the characters. I enjoyed getting the chance to talk to the actors again and it is fun to work with other audience members trying to piece together clues and guess the killer, motive, and weapon. Like most audience members, I started to tune out after the final applause, plus it doesn’t help that the space is uncomfortably cold. Tickets for the show are $40. This covers admission to the show and the food. Personally, I think $40 is a bit much for a show and food of this caliber, but it is family friendly entertainment and for those needing a light escape this is a great option.
Poison Ivy Mysteries presents Justice At The Gold Dust: A Wild West Murder Mystery
Famous Dave’s 7273 South Plaza Center Drive West Jordan, UT 84084 and
Diamond Lil’s 1528 West North Temple Salt Lake City, UT 84116
June 8, 15, 21, and 29. July 12, 19, and 26. August 10, 17, 23, and 31 at 7 PM.
Tickets: $40 (includes cost of food)
call: 801-906-8591
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