By: Frank C. D’Amico
HIGHTSTOWN – The butler couldn’t possibly have done it. Or maybe he did. That kind old spinster was just too kind and thus, a little suspicious. The greedy nephew seemed too obvious a suspect.
These are some thoughts with which audience members wrestle when they attend an interactive murder mystery presentation.
Borough resident Suzanne O’Neill owns the Omicron Theatre Productions company and the group regularly stages murder mystery dinners all over New Jersey.
A theater major at Trenton State College, Ms. O’Neill always has been involved in stage work. She formed the Omicron company 10 years ago.
Ms. O’Neill’s company stages productions that allow the audience to become part of the play.
"The setting of the play is always an event where there are a lot of people like a wedding, a funeral or the reading of a will," she said.
Often the actors will sit at the same table as the audience and react to them as if they’re a long-lost brother or a distant relative.
The theater troupe performs all over the state, but is mainly based at the Coach and Four Restaurant on Route 33 in Hightstown. Ms. O’Neill said the group performs at the restaurant almost every weekend.
They perform shows with titles such as "Murder at Liarton Manor" – their current production – and "Murder at Rutherford House."
"We also do a lot of corporate parties at hotels and restaurants," Ms. O’Neill said.
During the production clues are introduced and eventually the audience votes on the identity of the murderer.
"Of course, along the way there are plenty of red herrings," Ms. O’Neill said.
The group changes scripts every several months and each script requires a different number of actors.
"Usually the productions have 10 or 12 actors in it," Ms. O’Neill said.
Ms. O’Neill said she uses the same actors for most of the productions.
"We just keep the actors’ cards on file and if we like them we work with them again," she said.
Ms. O’Neill said she chose the name "Omicron" because that is the Greek letter for "O."
"Whatever the premise of our play is, it has to be interactive and involve the audience," she said. "It’s a lot of fun for them."
For more information about Omicron Theatre Productions, call Suzanne O’Neill at (609) 443-5598.
