Back in college, I acted and worked on a bunch of children’s theatre productions, and the biggest challenge always seemed to be the same: How do you create a work that can hold a kid’s attention and engage them without being trite, or condescending?
It is a fine tightrope to walk — too far in one direction and the kids lose focus due to silliness; too far in the other, and they glaze over with boredom. Layer on the challenge of creating escape room puzzles for a video game savvy audience, and that tightrope becomes even more treacherous to navigate.
GumShoe, Inc. deftly dances its way across that tightrope with a song and a smile.
The story driven escape room’s premise is simple: Aunt Fancy’s nephew Art and his friends are putting on an art show — and Aunt Fancy has hired you, the newest recruits of GumShoe, Inc. to follow the clues to where she’s hidden Art’s painting for safe keeping.
Along the way you get help from Art (an artist) and his friends, Muse (a musician) and Writ (a writer), who feel like they just walked off the set of the old game show Where In The World Is Carmen San Diego? or PBS’s Odd Squad. The talented cast act as hint-givers and in some instances are parts of the puzzles themselves.
The puzzles themselves are smart, intuitive, challenging for kids — just challenging enough for the adults — and fun without being frustrating. The kids in our group (ages 9, 10, and 11) tackled them like professional treasure hunters, often times spotting clues before the adults in the room did, and then attacking them with delight and concentration.
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The world of GumShoe, Inc. occupies a bright, colorful series of spaces that are hands-on, which feels lived-in and alive. Much of the life comes from Art and his friends, as they interact and play with the ‘gumshoes’ — and no doubt, this escape room is pure play — a kidmersive show — that allows the kids to take center stage and, judging by reactions, feel the excitement of accomplishment.
Because GumShoe, Inc. aims itself at kids, there isn’t the usual wink and nod to the adults in the room that are found in a lot of kid-friendly fare; there is no cynicism or innuendo in this show, and that is what gives it its freshness: an honest excitement to solve Aunt Fancy’s puzzles, which are often literally fancy — adorned with sparkly lights. Instead, it seems to offer from the get-go a nod and a smile to the kids, putting clues and puzzles where adults have to get down on the floor and play.
One of the highlights for me, was seeing my son, L’il D, tackle a puzzle on his own, and then pulling Art over to see what he’d accomplished with a flourish. And in fact, all the kids (and a couple of adults) got to take center stage at different points, either through solving a puzzle, getting a little bit silly, or by making that one-on-one connection that only immersive theatre allows us to do.
We managed to find Art’s painting (with time to spare), and have a really great time — with everyone smiling throughout.
GumShoe, Inc. runs July 28 & 29 at Epiphany Space, located at 1763 N Gower, Hollywood. Tickets cost $21.83, and can be purchased here.
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