Quick Take

The 418 Project in Santa Cruz launches its new theater effort Muse of Fire with a colorful new original play spoofing murder-mystery tropes with an inclusive queer sensibility titled "Who Killed Simon Braggart?"

It’s not a spoiler to say that someone dies in the sleek new stage comedy at The 418 Project. It’s right there in the title: “Who Killed Simon Braggart?” And it’s no spoiler to say that the murder victim in this case was an obnoxious, detestable person — I mean, get a load of that name.

In many ways, the new production at The 418 — running four performances between Friday, Oct. 18, and Saturday, Oct. 26 — is a conventional whodunit. But in many other ways, it’s anything but conventional. For instance, the hard-boiled detective on the scene, Joe Gumption, is a creation you don’t usually see in a murder-mystery drama set in the glamorous 1940s.

“Joe is a nonbinary person at a time when that was not an available identity,” said the play’s writer and director, Aaron Stoetzel. “And that’s a big part of what came up when we were writing this and rehearsing this: What does that look like? How will people react? I mean, yes, this person refers to themselves with they/them pronouns, which was an alien concept in the 1940s. But it’s also true that they might not have had the resistance to that vocabulary because there wasn’t a media out there telling you what to think and influencing people, at least in that specific way.”

The guiding principle behind “Simon Braggart” is what Stoetzel calls “curated anachronisms.” That means the play mixes familiar tropes that we’ve all seen from countless whodunit scenarios with edgy, out-front, queer-conscious ideas of today. Even the musical score is original and in keeping with the spirit of creative anachronisms.

“It’s a murder mystery,” he said. “It’s queer. It’s deliberately theatrical and full of curated anachronisms. We’re having fun with the period, but we’re also trying to say something.”

The 418 Project has hosted many original theatrical productions over the years, going back to its days on Front Street. (The organization’s name comes from its original address, 418 Front, which no longer exists.) But this one marks a new venture. It’s the first production of an in-house theater troupe called Muse of Fire (from Shakespeare’s “Henry V”). Muse of Fire’s primary objective is to “reduce the barriers to participation” in theater, meaning at the heart of its mission is diversity and inclusion.

Laura Bishop, The 418’s executive director, said, “We have been writing original work, and trying to — and succeeding — in reducing the barriers to participation in original stage work for [many years]. We really got serious about inclusivity and equity around 2017 or so, and we began to take the slow journey to really designing our programming for people who are further from opportunity. What that looks like in today’s 418 Project is that we have a creative team composed entirely of BIPOC and queer artists.”

“Who Killed Simon Braggart?” is set at a big, splashy Hollywood movie premiere. The 418 Project itself is a former movie theater, and the play’s setting was designed, in part, to take best advantage of the hall’s movie-house architecture. The theater’s lobby will also be activated as part of the play, turned into a kind of Hollywood cocktail party. Even the audience has a role to play. 

“We write shows for ourselves,” said Stoetzel, “so we’re writing for this space specifically. So, it’s always been a little bit of a challenge. How do we take this disused movie theater and play to its strengths rather than bemoan the idea that it’s not a traditional theater?”

The hope is that the comedy will come from the clash of cultures and expectations when the glam ’40s meet the queer-friendly 2020s.

“When you arrive,” said Bishop, “we’ll have ties and hats and gloves from the period. So people can feel like they’re stepping into a different world. We’ll have cigarette girls selling candy cigarettes and a piano player at a bar. So, we’re going to allow people to leave the 21st century behind and step into this world.”

“Who Killed Simon Braggart?” plays for four performances, Oct. 18, 19, 25 and 26, at The 418 Project. 

Have something to say? Lookout welcomes letters to the editor, within our policies, from readers. Guidelines here.

Wallace reports and writes not only across his familiar areas of deep interest — including arts, entertainment and culture — but also is chronicling for Lookout the challenges the people of Santa Cruz...