‘Hollywood Murder Mystery’: A Halloween hallmark from SUBOG Comedy

Not sure what to do for Halloween this year? Luckily, SUBOG has been and is continuing to host countless Halloween inspired events that are completely free for students. SUBOG’s most recent event, “Hollywood Murder Mystery” took place on Monday, Oct. 29. “Hollywood Murder Mystery” was an interactive comedy show centered around the imagined kidnapping of singer, Taylor Swift. Students were assigned different roles, cosplaying celebrities and characters ranging from Garfield to Paris Hilton to 50 Cent.  

Presented by the creators of “Mission IMPROVable,” the hosts were two comedic “security guards,” who brought the story to life. Guests were supposedly attending Swift’s album release party, which was accompanied by music and refreshments before the actual show began.  

“I was not really sure what the event would be going into it, but I will say a lot more people attended than I was expecting. This contributed to the energy of the event. Also, I loved that they provided food,” said Addison Meisterling, a first-semester environmental science major.  

The Student Union Ballroom was filled with laughter and applause throughout the night. With the show being separated into three acts, it was easy for everyone to get involved in some way. Interviews from mock John Mayer, Travis Kelce and Minnie Mouse were held in Act I. The unexpectedness of some of the attendees drew obnoxious laughs from most — Disney characters seated at a table with NFL players was likely the last thing anyone thought they would witness at this event.  

Act II of the show presented onlookers with various pieces of supposed evidence from a variety of famous suspects, many of whom are Swift’s public enemies. Voicemails from Kanye West were played and letters from Katy Perry were read to the crowd. Although presented with several logical suspects, the audience members were asked to draw a picture depicting their final proposed suspect. These drawings were constructed one feature at a time by different celebrities at each table, with most resembling a deformed goblin. The hosts took turns revealing each proposed suspect, coming up with a hilarious name and backstory for each.  

“My favorite part was when we got to draw. It was fun passing the paper around and adding different features of the suspect and it seemed like the other tables really enjoyed it too,” Meisterling explained.  

To conclude the show, the audience was asked to carefully examine all the provided evidence and correlation to the suspects on their own to decipher a logical explanation as to why Swift went missing. Groups came up with a name for themselves as celebrity-detectives and had ten minutes to solve the crime.  

The interactiveness of the show resonated well with audience members. “I was attracted to the event because it seemed like a fun thing to do with my friends. My favorite part was getting to come up with theories as a team by examining all the evidence,” stated Nicholas Jokl, a first- semester acting major.  

Students in the top three groups closest to guessing how the crime unfolded were awarded gift cards. The kidnapper was revealed to be non-other than Swift’s musical rival and inspiration for the song “Bad Blood,” Katy Perry.  

Meisterling shared a comment on the impact of the event, “This is my first year without a drive to a pumpkin patch or doing typical fall activities, so I thought the event could provide those types of feelings.” The “Hollywood Horror Mystery” allowed students to get into the holiday spirit while still being on campus. It was a relaxed night of fun and positive company.