With Prime Stage set to release a new season of Mystery Theatre in May, there’s no time like now to catch up on past installments, all of which are available on Apple, Audible, Deezer, Libsyn, Spotify, or the podcasts page at PrimeStage.com.
Each season features an all-new five-act mystery, with most episodes running between 10-15 minutes–just right for taking a mystery break during your busy day.
Our Season 5 story, “A Most Deadly Poison” (set to coincide with the premiere of Prime Stage’s presentation of Arsenic and Old Lace), picks up where Season 4’s “Time is Out of Joint” leaves off.
Here’s the setup:
You are in a round Victorian drawing room, gathered there with mystery writer August LaFleur and ten members of the New Town Players.
The mahogany-paneled walls are carved to resemble pleated curtains and drapes, which you find amusing, since the room has no windows. What it does have are three large paintings and a boar’s head trophy.
Two of the paintings are landscapes: The first depicts a line of trees reflected in a placid lake; the second, a golden sunset mirrored on a glassy beach.
The third painting is the portrait of a young woman, her head and shoulders angled away in a three-quarter turn that highlights the soft curve of her jaw. Pale ribbons hang from a bow on the back of her bonnet while around her neck, a darker ribbon accentuates her pale complexion. The collar of her blouse is trimmed with lace. Her hair shimmers with golden highlights. And though you see her only in profile, she looks strangely familiar. You have seen her before, but for now, you are too caught up in the moment to remember where.
On the wall opposite the woman, the trophied head of a decapitated boar snarls with upturned tucks. It is the room’s only threatening aspect, at least . . . that’s your first impression.
As with all previous stories, each episode of “A Most Deadly Poison” will conclude with a question or prompt, giving you a chance to take part in solving the mystery. And if you’re planning to attend the opening night of Prime Stage Theatre’s production of Arsenic and Old Lace, be sure to stop by our Mystery Theatre display, where you can examine the clues presented in the first episode of “A Most Deadly Poison” and offer your theories for a solution to the mystery.
Arsenic and Old Lace opens at Pittsburgh’s New Hazlett Theatre on March 7, two days after the first installment of “A Most Deadly Poison” hits the ether. It’s going to be one of our trickiest mysteries yet, so be sure to have your spyglasses, notepads, and wine glasses ready when this one drops on May 5.
And … once you catch up on those past installments of Mystery Theatre, be sure to check out the video below from Gregory Hall (aka The Funky Werepig). He has a book recommendation that Mystery Theatre fans will not want to miss (IMHO).
Take it away, Mr. Hall!
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