In The Moonlight

Engaging and Refreshing

Such an incredible show!

I loved every second of this production. The music was beautifully written and performed. The singing was on another level and I especially loved watching Sammi T and Noah J perform. I was honestly on the edge of my seat the whole night and loved the audience participation aspect. So creative! It was also super funny and had me feeling all the emotions. I went home humming the songs and telling everybody how phenomenal the performance was. I would 100% reccomended watching In The Moonlight.

Super talented, artistic show!

Loved the singing, dancing, and beauty of the show. It was slightly hard to hear the words of the songs due to the acoustics, but I really loved the experience! Also, the prosecutor was incredible.

unclear

this was my first ever fringe experience- i don’t know if this is a skill issue on my part… but i had NO idea that this was two hours and not one… other people in the audience also seemed surprised and multiple groups left during intermission end of act one was a disco party- but it was clear not many people in our audience wanted to participate which really just created a strange energy (kudos to the cast for trying to engage during this part) i don’t know what the plot was… and i sincerely really tried to follow i couldn’t really root for anyone, because i didn’t know who anyone was

Wonderful amazing murder mystery!!!

In the Moonlight completely blew me away on opening night. The writing is so well-done and it's super easy to follow, and keeps you hooked for the full 2 hours and is intriguing the entire time. The whole cast is insanely talented, and the courtroom scene alone is an absolute riot that had me laughing so hard in act 2. This is a very well written musical and when you leave trust the songs will be stuck in your head.

An absolute blast!!

This show was funny, enticing, and all around a really good time! I really enjoyed the interactive aspects, the music, and the audience participation! The leads had incredibly strong vocals, and everyone on stage looked like they were having a fabulous time. It’s definitely a show to see twice (or, dare I say, three or four times), since it’s different every night! Overall, I had a wonderful time and was on the edge of my seat the whole night!

A fun performance limited by tech and writing

The strength of this show is very much contained in the strength of the cast. The singing was powerful, the acting excellent, the dancing . . . sufficient, with some notable standouts who really brought the energy the show was clearly relying on to get through some of the clunkier moments. The music and choreography were also notably good, leveraging the skill of the performers on the music side and compensating for the limited skill in the case of choreography. Unfortunately, a combination of technical issues and writing issues kept it from being a performance that you could get truly lost in. The use of microphones in the small space led to a dissonance when singers were hitting their big notes, which dulled the impact they would have otherwise had. This also created a difficulty in hearing exact words during louder moments, and that meant that sometimes critical explanations of what was happening got lost, leading to confusion as you try to infer why the characters’ situations seemed to suddenly shift without warning. Finally, the inclusion of a phone-based audience poll in the second act was subject to the problems such things always are – not everyone can connect immediately, things on the screen are blocked from certain angles and people have to move or ask for information, there’s the crushing sense that we could have just done a show of hands and it would have kept the show moving along. That momentum loss really hurts, because we’re going into a critical moment where someone in the cast will be declared guilty, and taking two minutes for a straw poll kills the tension. The writing also struggled with keeping the tension, mostly because rather than being a murder mystery drama, it was a drama story and a crime story that happened to intersect at a particular point in time. The premise of a (good) murder mystery is that the audience is given clues and evidence that allow them to deduce the true culprit, if they can look past the ways in which the evidence is intended to be misleading. The courtroom scenes would have been the ideal place to drop this evidence and have a fast talking prosecutor make circumstantial but compelling cases against each defendant, reinforced by the fact that we saw all suspects acting suspiciously in the moments leading up to the murder. But instead the courtroom was focused on the drama storyline, and so no evidence is given and none of the characters are made to seem particularly invested in finding the truth. When the true murderer is revealed, none of the falsely accused suspects are even there to find out which makes it feel isolated from what is going on in the rest of the story. The drama plotline, in contrast, is a perfectly serviceable execution of a love triangle but gets sidelined by a murder happening and the need to spend time familiarizing us with characters who are important for the murder plotline but not the drama plotline. Ultimately I think the premise could have worked if the murder thread and drama thread had been tied together just a little closer, perhaps by having one of the drama cast care about finding the truth of the murder and learning something about their wants and needs in the drama portion from that investigation. But without anything more binding the different aspects together, it felt like we jumped from scene to scene without an emotional throughline that kept them feeling like one story. As critical as I have been here, I want to emphasize that the show was still fun to watch. You have to be willing to meet the energy it brings and play along where it asks you to, and perhaps be willing to forgive some awkward transitions. But the Fringe is exactly the place to try things and learn from experience, and if you’re going to watch someone learn the ropes you might as well do it listening to an exceptional cast.

Good Cast, Confusing Writing

The actors were mostly good, (with two minor characters, Vic and the Prosecutor, being standouts imo), and they were all good singers too. Unfortunately, none of the characters were given much personality or motivation. The plot didn't really seem thought out either, and it didn't deliver on being a murder mystery or having real 80s vibes. Also, not sure why it needed a 15-minute intermission. Still a fun time with good music though.

Moonlight Sonata

I saw this show on a whim, and I am glad I did. Some people have been put off by the fact that it is a two hour show, of which the box office manager was sure to alert me. Some of the negative reviews reflect that, of which it is Fringe, itself, that should bear the responsibility for not making that obvious. Creator Ian Bell has an ambitious freshman project. Just barely into college at the U, he has his footprint in nearly every aspect of this production, having also written the songs and music. It is well performed by all, most of which are also just getting their professional start. Some other reviewers complained about not being able to follow the story, or understand the lyrics. It is true that the venue sometimes complicates the sound, though the story is not so complicated that it can't be followed. If this production is any indicator, Bell should have some more ambitious musicals in his future.

A great new production, fresh talent, and music!

In The Moonlight is a beautifully composed and crafted musical put on by some amazing talented performers! I won’t lie, the first act took me some time and thought to settle into the plot, but seeing act two helped explain some questions I had at intermission while keeping me invested during the comedic and interactive court scene. The music is made of amazing compositions, especially for Fringe, with some very powerful musical moments from solo performers and big group numbers that deserve all the praise.

Amazing talent

The talent that has been combined within this show is amazing. The limitations of the space obviously did not show off their full potential. Knowing these are students gives me excitement for the future of what is to come with their talents.

AMAZING super fun and interactive!!!

This show had just about everything. It was funny, emotional, suspenseful, and more! Not only was the plot captivating but the all original music was catchy and amazingly performed by the cast! I loved how you really feel like a part of the story in the end by getting to vote on the outcome as well. Overall it was an amazing experience and I highly recommend going to see it if you get the chance!!

Amazingly Creative Show

I saw the mixed reviews, but I love a good murder mystery - so decided to try it out! I’m so glad I did. This was campy, artistic & outside of the box - exactly what experimental theatre should be. I commend Ian Bell for taking on writing, composing & directing a show at his young age - this is the kind of boldness we need in the arts. The actors (especially the leads) were very talented & charismatic, which I felt made up for some of the complaints about long run time & confusing plot lines. If you enjoy theatre, you also need to support young artists learning to stretch themselves & try different things! It reminded me a bit of Rocky Horror - which isn’t for everyone, but became a huge cult classic for being different than the rest. Kudos to all cast & crew!

5 stars for In The Moonlight ⭐️

This was my second time seeing In The Moonlight, and I was super impressed with the changes made from the original. The show had so many things incorporated that I had never seen before like the kahoot where the audience gets to decide who goes to jail is so unique! And having the audience come up and dance in the club was another super fun an innovative aspect that was new to me, all the songs were beautifully written and performed, all of the cast members were really strong actors/actresses.

Authentic Connectivity

For me; the Saturday matinee proved to be a shared opportunity, a shared risk and shared responsibility. A small emotionally restrained audience began to come alive on the disco floor at the end of Act I; thanks to the flexible cast who seized on the audiences preference for a conga line. It proved to be a contagion and the audience came alive in Act II. The performance itself hit on all cylinders, despite a complex and sometimes meandering plot . I was also greatly impressed by the humility of all involved to make the necessary responsive adaptations based on feedback received. Finally; a note of gratitude to the Co-Directors, the Marketing and Stage Managers, Audiovisual Technician, Choreographer and Dramaturg; your tireless efforts contributed greatly to the success of the show.

Not your typical Murder Mystery!

My wife and I happed to stumble on to Into The Moonlight a few nights ago, I really enjoyed this musical. The cast delivered strong performances, and their energy kept the audience engaged from beginning to end. The songs were memorable, and the choreography was well executed, The performers worked well together, creating an entertaining and emotional experience. Overall, it was a fun and uplifting production that I would recommend to anyone who enjoys a murder mystery.

Felt like a first draft

The cast was enthusiastic. The idea of synth drenched 1980s music industry is who-dunnit plot sounds awesome. As performed, the plot of confusing, the songs seemed unrelated to the plot, and the action was unmotivated. I loved the red moon set dressing that started the show, and the Las Vegas villains were excellent. I wish they were in a better show!

A charmingly murderous romp

I was impressed at how much Moonlight Muses bit off with this show, and even more so by how much they delivered! Ian Bell's 80s-inspired score had a ton of range and emotional punch to carry us through nearly 2 hours of show with intermission (important for Fringers to know since this was at an independently produced venue!). The cast fielded the power ballads and belts well. I was especially floored by Noah Jetland and Sammi Trinidad. There were also some fun audience interaction moments. All in all, a charming romp of a murder mystery musical and a great kickoff to my Fringe experience this year!

Such a fun time!

Overall, this show was well directed and a fun time! The audience participation was a great add on, and music was beautifully written and performed! Characters that stood out to me were both executives, Matthew and Paul for their strong choices and vocals! If for no other reason, go just to see them. It's so worth it!! Super funny and the joy from the cast spilled out to the audience!! Well done.

Wasn’t a Fringe Show

The half kitty is for the earnest hard work of the cast. The length was an unpleasant surprise, Fringe shows, even “independent” should fit the one hour parameter. The volume of sound and amount of flashing lights were headache inducing. The plot was choppy and made harder to follow by the quality of the sound and issues with sung enunciation. I hate to leave a negative review AND feel like 25 dollars was a lot to sink into this one…so heads up if pennys are tight.

A little confusing but fantastic overall!

I really enjoyed this murder mystery musical overall. The performances were energetic, the cast had great chemistry, and the music kept the audience engaged throughout the show. The set and costumes also helped create a fun, mysterious atmosphere that fit the story well. The first half was a little confusing at times because there were so many characters, clues, and plot twists being introduced. It took a while to figure out how everything connected, which made it difficult to fully follow the story early on. Thankfully, the second half brought everything together beautifully. The mystery became much clearer, the pacing picked up, and all of the clues started to make sense. The reveal was satisfying, and the ending tied up the story in a way that was both entertaining and memorable. Overall, this was an amazing production. While the beginning required a little patience, the payoff in the second half was absolutely worth it. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys musicals with humor, suspense, and a clever mystery.

skip it. seriously.

I really try to write reviews that are honest, but provide critique and care, not just to slander. This one is tough. I loathed this quite a bit. #1 the show was 2 hours with a fifteen intermission and that was never marketed. I had other fringe shows scheduled and couldn’t stay for the second act EVEN if I wanted too. So us leaving at intermission was honestly out of being overbooked. They marketed that the show would have a loud scream…why does that need to be announced? The show starts and it’s 5 minutes of dancing, no words, you’re in 1984 and have NO idea what’s going on. I don’t know if they were trying to be campy, serious? Funny? It was dreadful. This women wants to stay in Italy but this other women likes her but then her husband goes to America and then these people want him to kill his co workers? It made NO sense. Songs were so confusing, no idea what the plot was. You could tell that some audience members were definitely plants because they were OVERLY laughing at jokes to like rouse the audience…..you could tell people were not pleased. THEN they asked the audience to get up and dance with them randomly, and when people said no, the actors continued begging people to get up. Then this person in the cast randomly SCREAMED, fell over, and that was act one. $25 is extremely high for something like this, and I recommend this show be taken back to the drawing board, I commend the effort but you got about 99% of it wrong. If you like new works, check it out 100%.

Strong Cast, Unclear Plot

This show is long. We did not see that it’s listed as a longer show. At beginning of show they announced that it’s 90 min. That doesn’t include an intermission. Curtain calls came at the TWO HOUR MARK. The leads had strong voices. Many plot holes.

The show got better!

I saw this show on opening night and it was good, but I saw it today and looks like they been making changes to the show and it worked! For one, the show is shorter than before, now less than two hours. Second, some of the unnecessary songs were cut or shorten. Making the story run smoother and quicker! Third off, some lines and lyrics were changed to give better, more insightful, context needed for the later part of the show. Overall, I love the audience participation; getting to dance in the disco was very fun! Also, I found playing a Kahoot to vote on who was guilty was a fun interactive element! Lastly, the vocals. THEY WERE AMAZING! It's so nice to hear young, talented actors singing on stage. I loved the sympathy song with Noah Jetland and Berri in Because We Are. The whole cast is very talented vocally! I WILL come back to see this show closing night! I can't wait to see how they keep improving!

I did enjoy this but for the wrong reasons

The singing was good but the plot hard to follow. It could have been tighter. If the words of the songs were clearer that would have helped. I enjoyed the sparkly red gloves !

2 hours and WORTH IT!!!

They made it very clear at the box office that this show was two hours. (It was a little funny) (The show was actually only 90 minutes but the intermission was 15 minutes.) The show itself was amazing! The cast sang beautifully with a lot of strong belters. There was only one noticeable plot hole in act 2 but the overall story made sense to me. I liked how the moon showed news clippings of the Moonlight Muses and the Las Vegas Bosses before we actually saw them. It helped to build the suspense, which was released in Wealthy when we finally meet the Las Vegas bosses. Paul was my favorite character. His southern humor got me and his tango really added to the absurdism of his character. I would say that the space wasn’t the best for a musical as it made the acoustics funky. But I understand that at this point in time, it’s beyond their control. Overall, the story was mostly understandable with minor plot holes near the end, the Kahoot was a clever way to vote on who was guilty, and even though it was about 2 hours long; I was having fun the whole time. ( I also felt like I got more out of my $25 because it was like seeing two show for the price of one!)

Hilarious heartwrenching and heinous ;)

In The Moonlight was such an entertaining and memorable show! Oh my gosh the cast is sooo talented!! And I can’t get the songs out of my head! The writers did a fantastic job combining different genres of musical theater through music, dance, drama, comedy and mystery. I love how many audience members participated in the 80s gala theme and the audience participation elements really made the show! I was on the edge of my seat the whole time! Definitely worth the watch and even go to multiple nights to participate in and enjoy the multiple different endings! Wear your nicest and sparkliest outfits and come early to take pics on the red carpet!

Must see In the Moonlight

Can't say enough about In the Moonlight! This independently produced show is entertaining from beginning to end. Fantastic vocals esp. from Noah Jetland, Berri Stecyk, Sammi Trinidad, Gabriella Jasiczek, and Maggi Flynn. All original music and creative storyline from Ian Bell. Loved the antics of JB Hunt as the over-the-top lawyer. The moments of humour and audience interaction brought the fun.

Really good murder mystery

In The Moonlight is a really fine musical with a nice murder-mystery plot wrapping it in a nice bow. I'd say the standout of this musical is the singing: Life of Work, Prison Bars, and I Don't Need Your Sympathy are my personal favorites. I also enjoyed the story a lot. While I do agree with some reviews that the story can be a bit muddy and unclear in the First Act since it doesn't lean into its mystery-mystery bits right away, the Second Act clears up a lot of the messiness and makes it worthwhile to experience. Plus, they let the audience keep any disposable props thrown near them, which I liked since I got to keep a fake $100 bill. Would recommend to other people!

Not worth the extra time

Talented cast but not much else. Audio production was very bad, music/voices were not well balanced and mics were overkill in the small space. Pacing was very bad and the writing failed to get me invested in the story and the characters. There was way too much going on for a singular, short show (Italy, Vegas, 70s AND 80s). There needed to be more editing down to the important pieces of the story and character relationships. The murder has no emotional impact as the character who was killed was written to be incredibly unlikable, and I did not care who killed them or why. Audience participation really only happens at the end of Act 1 and Act 2, but because of the failure to be invested it wasn't worth it to stay and me and my party ended up leaving during intermission.

Musical Moonlit Whodunnit

In the Moonlight is moonlighting as an independent over at the Center of the Performing Arts and is a spirited murder mystery musical mostly put together by students. I had fun what can I say—a lively synthy score, high production value, choreography that brings the characters alive, and a disco scene where audience members can live out their John Travolta dreams. I don’t know how exactly but this feels like twice as much action as your typical Fringe show.

What did I just experience/see? ;D

The main mysteries for me in this murder mystery musical were a) the gaping plot holes that all the fake cigarettes and synthesized 80's flavor in the world couldn't make cohesive and b) much of the actual lyrical content (due to some muddy/buried-by-the-music sound quality). That said: the lead vocalists were strong and appeared to be having a great time, the incomprehensibility was buffered by some entertaining hijinks/shenanigans, and honestly that mullet alone gets its own star!

I couldn't understand the lyrics.

I was excited when the show began, but I found as it continued that I was consistently unable to hear about half the lyrics. There seemed to be poor sound mixing for the space. Since most of the show was songs, I found myself lost. I wound up leaving during the intermission. For the part I saw, there was something earnest but odd about the writing, and the choreography was gimmicky but pleasant.

TANGO TANGO TANGO!!!

Who cares if it’s two hours? They Tango! In Act 2, when the two lawyers tango with each other, I just about died of laughter. My favorite part is at the end when Paul drops Adam. I also loved getting to dance on stage at the disco ( somebody started a Conga line!) i also loved getting to vote for who committed the murder on Kahoot! Overall, engaged the whole time and had a blast! Ps, loved the candy cigs at concessions : )

Left Me With Questions

I'm of two minds with this one-- From a playwright/dramaturg/whodunnit enjoyer's perspective, this wasn't terribly well done. The plot holes were numerous. The characters were flat. Things just kind of happened for no real reason. Everything felt rushed and the score was power ballad after power ballad with no emotional or musical growth. Several of the jokes didn't land and there was so much dead space and lack of vision with the story. However! The cast was absolutely in earnest in a way that I greatly appreciated. They kept the show afloat, were absolutely dedicated to what they were doing, and clearly put their heart and soul into it. My hope is that In The Moonlight is simply a learning experience and that-- with a little more editing to their script and a little more clarity in their vision overall-- this dedicated and excited company will continue to make theatre.

Innovative Mix of Art Forms

First, be aware this show runs about 90 minutes, not the 60 that Fringe shows slot into - so you may need to leave after Act 1 or just not schedule immediately after. Kudos to Ian Bell for his writing and scoring of this show. Gabriella as Scarlet is very good - UW Madison is lucky to be getting her in their program the next four years! I was also struck by the young performer who was Matthew's Vegas boss - I missed the character's name, but I assume it was either Sammi as Vic or Marine as Lead Singer. Who will die and who will your performance decide is the killer? It's a good hook for a show that showcases young, talented performers, both in song and dance!