Pillow Mints & Mystery: “The Hotel Who?” Plots To Serve Up Murder In A Classic LA Hotel (FEATURE)

Who hasn’t daydreamed about playing sleuth in a classic whodunit? The kind where there are a half dozen or more suspects each with a motive, if not the means and opportunity, to off someone who — let’s face it — had it coming?

The creators of The Hotel Who? are betting that quite a few of us have had that daydream. Moreover, by offering an overnight experience that comes at a premium price ($500 for two complete with accommodations, dinner, and drinks), they’re betting that there are enough would-be sleuths who can’t resist the allure of a mystery night that goes beyond the boundaries of the usual.

“I’m fascinated by the idea of using something familiar or nostalgic as a basis for introducing the unexpected in a way that is accessible for a broader audience, said Monica Sharon, co-creator of the experience. “We all know what a murder mystery party means, but what happens when we combine murder mystery with immersive dance theater, dining and a real life social setting?”

That setting would be the Hotel Normandie in the Wilshire Center neighborhood of Los Angeles, where The Hotel Who? made it’s debut this month. Built in 1926 and renovated not so long ago the hotel mixes accents of Spanish Colonial and Renaissance Revival architecture and is known to the foodie set as the home of the original Cassell’s burger joint. (To be clear, those aren’t on the menu, something fancier is in place.) Sharon and her co-creator Angela Fegers chose the Normandie as the venue for trying out their big idea.

“We were both inspired by Hotel Normandie because of its history and all of the stories it had to tell,” said Sharon, “especially when Angela dug into researching its past.”

That research shaped the experience, said Fegers.

“A historic hotel gave us the opportunity to find creative inspiration through uncovering secret stories from decades past, including the residents who used the Hotel Normandie as their home.”

The storyline finds the audience transported back to 1929, not long before before the stock market crash wiped out fortunes large and small. Summoned to attend the post-elopement wedding reception of the hotel’s owner, guests are drawn into the soapy lives of the hotel’s residents. This takes place over the course of hours, with a preview version of the show rotating through tracked and scripted segments, a free-form cocktail hour with the character, site-specific dance numbers, and a dinner service, all setting the stage for the mystery to begin and the sleuthing to go deeper into the night. The killer to be revealed, naturally, over brunch the next morning.

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Once the body drops, there are clues to collect and suspects to interrogate. To be sure, this part hews more to the murder mystery formula than say, an escape game in structure. Yet what differentiates the whole of the show from either of those is the time involved. While still drawing on the heightened theatricality and a familiar serio-comic tone for murder mysteries, the extensive time before the murder happens in this iteration of The Hotel Who? makes for a radical departure from the usual formula. It really is hours before the game is afoot, but in that time there’s plenty of room to get to know the victim and all the potential suspects.

The team behind the event draw on a host of backgrounds. Fegers, originally from Florida, is based in Berlin where she co-operates the production company Apricot Productions and creates immersive work on her own, with dance as a primary focus. Sharon most recently worked with Tyra Banks through 2021 on the ModelLand project, and had been making immersive dance and dining experiences in Europe before that.

“On the surface, I always say that Angela and I have been developing this specific concept over the last two years,” said Sharon. “When I think back to our work, both as individual artists and working together over the past 11 years, the reality is that we have been developing some of these ideas since the first time we worked together on a piece, back in 2011. Hotel Who? is the culmination of an 11 year relationship of making work and growing together as artists (and best friends).”

The pair have pulled together a team including Chef Ani Samuelian, who draws on her experience in both restaurants and as a private chef, along with her French, Lebanese-Armenian background to shape the menu for the multi-course dinner that is at the center of every night’s event. As a unit, along with associate director, Kari Ann Flora and director of food & beverage and Maitre d’ Rayne, the core creative team is small but passionate with deep roots in dance and theatre.

As the creators envision it, this is the just the first iteration of The Hotel Who? with Sharon and Fegers aiming to take what they learn from this production and adapting the formula to other hotel venues in time.

“Stringing together different elements, creating a flow, it all took time,” said Fegers, “on top of producing, marketing, choreographing, dining planning, admin…but working with your best friend on a project that is a lot of work, has its benefits–you understand each other. When I reflect on creating this experience, in a space that we could use as a character, figuring out how to maneuver audiences through that space, the work was all worth it, it was a dream–and it came to life for both of us.”

The Hotel Who? is currently booking Thursday — Saturdays at the Hotel Normandie in LA through Oct. 30th. Single guest tickets, with accommodations, start at $350 with double occupancy at $500.

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