Review: MURDER ON THE MISSION TO MARS! at 21ten Theatre

Under the skilled direction of Brooke Totman, Murder on the Mission to Mars! is a deliriously entertaining solo show that blends comedy, science fiction, and classic whodunit mystery into something that feels unlike anything else on stage right now. Written and performed by David Jacobson, this one-man show rockets, quite literally, through nine wildly distinct space traveling characters, a pet koala, an AI presence who feeds “fun facts” that are randomly irrelevant to the action, the inventor of flying RVs who is sponsoring the mission, a locked-room murder mystery, and enough plot twists to make your head spin in zero gravity.

The premise alone is irresistible: six elderly eccentrics, each rigorously selected for humanity's first geriatric mission to Mars, find themselves crammed aboard a spaceship when one of their crew turns up dead, extra-unpleasantly murdered no less, in a room locked from the inside. The surviving septuagenarians must then do what septuagenarians presumably do best: bicker, suspect one another, and bumble their way toward solving a mystery that may claim its next victim at any moment.

The production draws comparison to Knives Out meets Monty Python. There's the same gleeful, almost gleaming pleasure in misdirection that made Knives Out such a crowd-pleaser, married to the anarchic, anything-goes absurdism of Python at its peak. But Murder on the Mission to Mars! also carves out its own comedic identity, one that owes as much to classic farce and character comedy as it does to its pop culture touchstones. Think Knives Out aboard the Starship Enterprise, filtered through the sensibility of a writer who genuinely loves his characters, no matter how ridiculous he makes them.

And ridiculous they are, in the best possible way. The crew was assembled by Mission Sponsor Rex Kepler, a man best known for his invention of the flying RV, which tells you everything you need to know about the tone Jacobson has set. Each of the eight space travelers is uniquely quirky, but crucially, each has a purposeful presence aboard the mission. Not every character is who the audience is led to believe, and the script is meticulous in how it plants seeds early that bloom into genuine surprises later. The setups and payoffs are crafted with real comedic and dramatic precision. You'll laugh, and then you'll laugh again when you realize how thoroughly you were fooled.

What makes the show soar, though, is Jacobson's performance. Seamlessly embodying nine distinct characters, each with their own physicality, voice, rhythm, and agenda. He demonstrates the kind of total command that solo performance demands and rarely receives this completely. He doesn't just switch between characters; he inhabits them, giving each one enough specificity and humanity that the audience holds the whole constellation of personalities in mind simultaneously. His energy throughout is relentless, yet calibrated; he knows when to push the absurdity to its limits and when to let a quieter moment of character work land. It is, simply put, a brilliant performance.

Totman's direction keeps everything moving with the momentum of a spacecraft that has no intention of slowing down. The pacing is tight without feeling rushed, and the physical staging makes inventive use of the solo format, helping the audience track which character Jacobson is inhabiting at any given moment while keeping the comedic chaos feeling spontaneous and alive.

Murder on the Mission to Mars! doesn't actually get its crew to Mars, and that perhaps, is the point. The journey is the thing. A wild, raucous, surprisingly clever journey that keeps the laughs rolling as fast as Jacobson's own considerable energy. It will leave you with a new appreciation for septuagenarians, a deep admiration for what a single performer can accomplish on a bare stage, and a smile on your face that lingers long after the murder is solved.

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