(DUNELLEN, NJ) -- Just in time for a rapidly-approaching Halloween holiday, and with accusations of treason in the air, Peaches and Crime -- the Northeast’s premiere Vaudeville-cabaret music and theatre act -- returns to Dunellen, New Jersey’s Roxy and Duke’s on October 12th with “It Stands to Treason:” a tale of murder and national betrayal ripped right from the headlines of a world that isn’t quite ours.
The piece -- fitting the 1930s look and sound of Peaches and Crime -- is created in the style of a 1930s radio drama, with actors reading scripts into microphones, but with two important twists. One is that the comedic mystery is a “You-Decide-Homicide”, in which the audience is polled about how the events should proceed, allowing them to participate in the drama, and essentially select their own exploits. The second twist is that the action pauses at various points, giving way to the brisk, jazzy, and macabre musical stylings of Peaches and Crime, helmed by lead vocalist Angela “Angie Diamond” Schwartz.
The story, written by Charles “The Professor” Berman along with the group’s lyricist and emcee Daniel “Daniel Z. Black” Schwartz, contains no shortage of strangeness, humor, and mystery. The action begins when two mystery-solving rivals: headstrong amateur sleuth and mystery novelist Merope Cooper (Ms Schwartz) and long-suffering police officer Bolton Oak (Drummer Ross “Ross” Bennett) both find themselves at the embassy of Ruritania -- an island dictatorship unaccountably obsessed with eels. As might be expected, a murder occurs, and our unlikely heroes must (or want to, at least) solve it.
The performance marks Peaches and Crimes fifth at Roxie and Dukes -- with good reason. “It’s one of our favorite places to play,” said Ms Schwartz. “The kooky, nostalgic decor is one-hundred-per-cent our style. It feels like the place was made for us. And the crowds we get are incredible. They’re just so enthusiastic,” she added, making sure to note the guests are encouraged to attend in their best jazz-era and/or Halloween-themed costumes (and, needless to say, to dance to dance numbers).
“It Stands to Treason” also features bassist Greg “Gregor Gregorovich Lunin” Baker as the Ruritarian Ambassador, clarinetist and vocalist Cat “Young Catherine” McDonald as the Eelswoman, pianist Charlie “Nice Charlie” Zayleski as the Suspicious Mr. Jones, comedian Zeb “Zebby C” Carstrom as Assistant to the Ambassador and introducing guitarist Bryan “Vitor Vardot” Flood as the Deputy Undersecretary.
Doors for “It Stands to Treason” open at 8:00pm on October 12th for a 9:00pm show at Roxy and Duke's Roadhouse 745 Bound Brook Rd Dunellen NJ 08812. Tickets cost $12 in advance, or $20 at the door. Tickets are available for purchase online.
