Princeton Triangle Club under the magnifying glass

In November, the Triangle Club solved a mystery that could only be solved by a certain sleuth. For their 124thyear as a group, the Princeton Triangle Club staged “An Inconvenient Sleuth,”a play where the mayor of “Smalltown” is kidnapped and both the characters and audience attempt to discover the mastermind behind it all. This Reunions, the mystery has returned, and so has "An Inconvenient Sleuth" for encore performances during Reunions weekend.

Company Manager Maeve Brady ’15 described the production as a “crimey crime” with elements of various detective genres from film noir to cartoon classics like “Scooby-Doo.” The Triangle website summarizes the show as “a whodunit cluesical in Triangle’s finest tradition.”

However, this show is not entirely traditional. Brady noted that this year’s production is, for the first time, a “book show,” which means all the numbers and scenes follow one central plot. Business Manager Victoria Gruenberg ’16 expressed admiration of the coordination between the many teams that comprise Triangle Club in collaborating to create multiple sketches that all drew on the single plot while still remaining true to Triangle’s witty humor and creativity.

“Our writers and cast have handled it with grace, dexterity and impeccable comedic timing,” Gruenberg said. “It is preposterously funny.”

Gruenberg and the other members of Triangle Club have some real-life experience with missing characters that members joke served as subconscious inspiration for this year’s missing mayor of Smalltown. While on tour last year, the Triangle bus left Gruenberg behind at a South Carolina rest stop.

“I had to send an email from a State Trooper's phone to the TriTour listserv that was just entitled ‘YOU GUYS LEFT ME AT A REST STOP’,” Gruenberg said. “I've honestly never laughed harder from happiness/relief/ridiculousness of the situation than when the bus pulled in and the club was apologizing and grabbing me and hugging me all the way to my seat.”

Following the company’s Intersession tour, the Triangle show production process begins anew in the spring. Triangle writers kick-start the process with brainstorming sessions and some preliminary sketch writing. Their pieces are then debuted in a “backer’s audition,” where the writers read through sketches and sing song verses for the Triangle trustees, who are Triangle alumni. Brady noted that the “backer’s audition” is an opportunity for writers to receive feedback and critique from an outside perspective.

The writers spend the summer revising, Skyping and rewriting different parts of the show. When they return to campus in the fall, there is a second backer’s audition for the updated material.

“Anyone in the club is welcome to attend [the second backer’s audition], and it’s so fun to see the show in its early stages — to see it come out of the mouths of the people conceiving and writing it,” Brady said.

A show run-through is also performed for the director, music director and choreographer, all of whom are professionals working with the club. Auditions follow, and rehearsals begin shortly after. At this point, the many moving parts of the multi-faceted Triangle Club spring into action. An orchestration mentor is brought in to work with the student musicians. Closer to the opening of the show, Triangle puts on a “trustee run,” which is an opportunity for current Triangle members to meet alumni and bond over a show, a meal and comedic camaraderie. Finally, just before the show opens, Triangle tech begins stage set-up in McCarter Theatre.

“We have weeks, but [the tech crew] basically has two days to pull everything together,” Brady said. “They stayed over fall break building an awesome set, and it’s so lucky for us actors.”

The week before the show opens involves multiple run-throughs as the company irons out the kinks with the inclusion of lights, costumes, props and the set. Show week is also a critical one for the club's business team in promoting the show and selling tickets. The team, affectionately known as “Biz,” has launched unique publicity campaigns for this year’s show. Biz developed various interactive opportunities to engage students and the campus community in the sleuthing spirit. Inspired by the core elements and characteristics of mystery stories, the team unveiled scavenger hunts and promotional materials to bring people into the world of “An Inconvenient Sleuth” before anyone even stepped into McCarter Theatre when the show first opened in November.

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“We wanted people to be able to play with us, whether that's via our scavenger hunts — we have two: one on campus and one online — or the #TriSpy magnifying glasses that you can pick up and look through,” Gruenberg said. “Ultimately, we just want you to come laugh and sleuth with us — both in our Biz campaigns and in the show.”