On Saturday night, roughly 70 people in Stone Path Malt raised their right hands and swore to do their honest best to aid in a murder investigation. 

The newly dubbed deputies weren’t law enforcement officers, but audience members at “The Curse of the Comet,” an interactive murder-mystery performed by Watermelon Alligator Theatre Company to help raise funds for the Onset Bay Association. 

A detective played by Garrett Olson gave the deputies a brief synopsis of the facts: An archaeologist named Myron Mason had disturbed the tomb of ancient Intec ruler Hopkay and brought upon himself a curse that would come into effect when Hopkay’s comet reappeared. Ten years after that fateful expedition, the comet was set to cross the skies over Mason’s brother’s home in Beverly Hills, and several people gathered to observe it. 

The morning after the party, Mason was found dead. 

The detective asked each of the six suspects to read their statement to the audience. Then, armed with a few clues, the brand-new detectives were given time to interrogate the suspects and construct a theory. 

Olson’s character shared those theories with the crowd before giving a final report and revealing the true culprit. 

“My deputies admit to having too much beer,” he said, prefacing one report. While several detectives had landed on the right suspect, only two had all the details correct: name, motive, method, time of death, and the facts to prove it. 

Other groups pitched ideas, including a nefarious dog accomplice and a blow-dart shot through a telescope. 

Jess Wilson, the managing and artistic director at Watermelon Alligator and an Onset Bay Association board member, said mystery performances like Saturday’s are “some of the most fun things we can do.” 

“We get to spend a couple hours in character,” she said.

The performance is a mystery for the actors, too: Although they’re armed with background information to tell the amateur investigators, they may not know they’re playing the murderer until that information is revealed by the detective, said Wilson. 

Wilson said more investigative teams were right about the murderer’s identity at the Saturday night event than at the groups’ past shows. 

“Everybody was engaged and asking questions,” said Olson. “Each one of these that we do is a different crowd.”

Olson was particularly impressed by the thorough notes taken by one participant, who nearly filled a paper with observations.

“This thrills us because this lets us know just how engaged they were,” Olson said.

Watermelon Alligator Theatre Company has a particular focus on accessibility and inclusion that informs their choices about what shows to perform, who to cast and where to perform. For more about the company, go to https://watermelonalligator.weebly.com/about-us.html.

Onset Bay Association President Kat Jones said the event’s proceeds will go to support the association’s programs, including the Chalk Full o’ Fun Fest and — hopefully — fireworks for the Fourth of July. For more, go to www.onsetbay.org.