Have you always wanted to be a detective in your favorite murder mystery? Do you think you have what it takes to put the likes of Maple, Poirot, or even Sherlock Holmes to shame? Care to put your wits to the test? Well, look no further than Andrew Barth Feldman (“No Hard Feelings,” Dear Evan Hansen, Ratatouille: The TikTok Musical), Tony Winner Alex Boniello (“Disney’s Descendants: The Rise of Red,” Dear Evan Hansen, Hadestown), and Matthew Barth Tinkelman’s Foul Play.
Foul Play is an interactive and immersive experience produced by the multi-Tony Award-winning studio TBD Theatricals. Featuring five different comedically-themed murder mystery chapters, you play the role of the detective, choosing which characters to follow, which rooms to enter, gathering clues to uncover the murderer as each mystery unravels.
The Cast
Boasting a star studded cast, Foul Play brings fan-favorite actors from across television, film, gaming, comedy, and Broadway altogether in an improvised comedy for the ages, including Gaten Matarazzo (“Stranger Things,” Sweeney Todd), Michael Urie (“Shrinking,” “Ugly Betty”), Ryan Haddad (“The Politician,” Dark Disabled Stories), Rob McClure (Mrs. Doubtfire, “Julia”), Erica Hernandez (“True Lies,” “Bridge and Tunnel”), Will Roland (Dear Evan Hansen, Be More Chill, “Billions”), Celia Rose Gooding (Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Jagged Little Pill), Alex Brightman (Beetlejuice, School of Rock), and many more! To view the full, impressive cast list, click here. Additionally, Foul Play features writing contributions from tabletop legends and Upright Citizen’s Brigade veterans Brennan Lee Mulligan (Dimension 20, Exandria Unlimited: Calamity), B. Dave Walters (Dungeons & Dragons: A Darkened Wish, Shadow of the Red Rage), and Arti Gollapudi (Upright Citizens’ Brigade, The Squirrel).
We got the chance to speak with Andrew Barth Feldman about his hopes for Foul Play, what makes it so unique, and his inspiration behind the project.
Q: This is such a unique concept! It’s like a ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’ murder mystery! What inspired the idea?
A: The idea came totally organically from hosting murder mystery parties when I was growing up! There’s a magic that happens when a bunch of funny people get in a room and all have competing objectives, not knowing what’s gonna happen. Foul Play came from a place of wanting to translate that digitally, and more to the point, wanting to keep playing these dumb murder mystery parties.
Q: How long did it take to bring all the moving parts together? Was there ever a moment you were like: ‘I can’t believe this is coming to fruition?’
A: I mean that only came after ‘I don’t think this is going to come to fruition’. There were so many times that we thought this thing would never get made, it’s too crazy, and there are too many of those moving parts from building the sets to programming the platform. But every time it almost fell apart, some miracle happened right when we needed it. Felt like the Universe wanted to see these murders happen.
Q: When it came to recruiting talent for ‘Foul Play’ how did you pitch it? And what was the reaction?
A: The incredible folks you see in this show are the ones who said ‘OH MY GOD HELL YES.’ And it would be so wrong any other way. There are tons of actors we pitched it to who didn’t really get what it was, and thank goodness they didn’t say yes anyway. We had the most incredible group of people, some of them making time in between other huge jobs just so they could come play with us.
Q: Of your castmates, who do you think would be the best equipped to solve a murder?
A: I mean, Rob McClure deconstructed the set to make weapons when he played a survivalist in the Reality TV case. If he was playing the role of a detective, I have no doubt he’d somehow stumble into solving an actual murder.
Q: What is your favorite whodunit and why? Did elements of it make it into the game?
A: The Clue movie is really important and formative for me and for this project, and we definitely have elements of it! Especially in our first case, Murder at Vanguard Mansion, we took lots of inspiration from Clue’s aesthetic.
Q: Circling back to ‘Foul Play’ what has been like for you to witness the feedback from the game thus far?
A: It’s overwhelming. The people who get it really get it, and that’s all we ever wanted. Everybody, when they hear about our project, says “My friend would love this!” I just hope all these friends-who-would-love-it get the chance to love it.
Q: Lastly, will we see more of ‘Foul Play’-esque projects in the future?
A: If I have anything to do with it, it’s a resounding yes!!!!
Where To Watch
During the premieres, viewers can join a Discord channel, also available on the series’ website, to chat with each other and guess who they think the murderer is. The top twenty guessers will have access to a live chat with Feldman and Boniello, and rewards within Discord.
THE FANTASY CASE: DARK CURSE OF SAVION SUNGUARD
Premieres May 12 at 9PM ET
Welcome to the Whispering Fireball, a tavern where Wizards, Dragonborn, Elves, and Goblins can bond over a pint of mead after a long day of adventuring. No brawls, magical or otherwise, EVER happen within the walls of this adventurer’s haven…as long as the prophecy doesn’t come true. That would be bad. The prophecy coming true would be very, VERY bad. Anyway, huzzah!!
THE CHILDREN’S TV CASE: MR. ROBERTSON’S WORLD OF IMAGINATION
Premieres May 19 at 9PM ET
For 30 years, Mr. Robertson has made the world a better place with his children’s TV program. He has filled the world with so much love, that his once inanimate puppets, Kevin Kindness (Gaten Matarazzo) and his friends, have come to life, creating a World of Imagination like no other! However, as Mr. Robertson has grown older, so have his puppets…and they’re not quite as loving.
Individual episodes cost $9.99 USD and the series bundle (all 5 episodes) is $39.99 USD. For more information and to purchase your tickets, visit www.foulplay.live.
