The Schuster Theatre’s Spring Mini-Fringe Fest is filled with events beginning Friday and running through March 11.

According to Alaina Manchester, director of the Schuster Theatre, theater fringe festivals usually feature “unique, odd, experimental and original works.”

“In the past, we have done devised works, works-in-process and original pieces, sometimes student-led and directed,” Manchester said.

“In the past, we have also teamed up with local theaters to promote theater that fits into the fringe category happening around town during the month of February.”

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s festival is a mini-fringe. All event guests are required to follow the university’s mask mandate.

The Fringe’s lineup begins Friday with a showing of the original “West Side Story” and new “In the Heights” films, followed by a discussion in Zurn 104.

A co-hosted event with the CHESS Speaker Series and the Film Society of NWPA is being presented Saturday. Its title is “An Exploration of Caribbean American Representation Onscreen: West Side Story and In the Heights.”

Saturday’s events will be held in the Yehl Ballroom. RSVP details for the speaker event can be found on EngageU.

This year, students of theater fraternity Alpha Psi Omega (APO) were presented with an opportunity to write and direct their own show.

Regan von Richter, a senior digital media communication and theatre design and technologies major, and Anthony DiFonzo, a senior criminal justice major, volunteered to produce this year’s production.

Two years ago, the first ever murder mystery production was incorporated into Gannon’s Fringe Fest. Both von Richter and DiFonzo participated as actors and wanted to pay tribute to their experience in the first show by recreating this year’s murder mystery.

Von Richter said “The Merry Murder Mystery” is an interactive performance where actors give scripted and improvised lines to portray the plot of a murder.

Von Richter said this year’s show takes place at an office Christmas party where the newly appointed CEO of the company mysteriously dies.

“With the help of two outrageous detectives, everyone in the office becomes a suspect,” von Richter said.

Throughout the performance, clues are given about the murder for the audience to follow along with on an interactive sheet, which helps track their observations throughout the show.

According to von Richter, during intermission, audience members will make their final guesses and submissions of their clue sheets, in hopes of guessing correctly and winning a prize.

After the intermission, the killer will be dramatically revealed, and the audience will finally get to see who was behind the cold-blooded murder.

Both von Richter and DiFonzo have spent months researching, planning, writing and re-writing this show to be produced to the best of its potential, and they are thrilled to see it come to life.

DiFonzo said that he couldn’t turn down the opportunity and the honor to continue this tradition for the theatre when it was offered to him.

“Words cannot describe how excited I am to show off all the hard work both Regan and I have put into the Merry Murder Mystery,” DiFonzo said.

Von Richter said participating as a performer, producer, designer and manager for the Schuster Theatre during her undergraduate days has been the “most rewarding and unforgettable experience I have had.”

And as for the upcoming murder mystery, von Richter said, “We have created something completely original and our own, and I have never been more proud to see something on stage.”

The Mini-Fringe Festival’s interactive murder mystery performance will be held at 8 p.m. Feb. 17-19 at the Schuster Theatre.

There is no ticketing fee for the show, but masks are required and there will be no late seating.

Adult themes and some inappropriate language are featured in this this production.

The Mini-Fringe Festival wraps up March 11 with a multicultural dance experience located at the Schuster Theatre.

Additional information can be found on EngageU and on the Schuster Theatre site, schustertheatre.com.

LIA EBERLEIN

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