By Jeffrey Allen Federowicz
So what happens when you combine the world’s number one television franchise, a mysterious crime and the Community Arts Center in Williamsport? The result is the Mad Science presentation of CSI: LIVE this Tuesday evening.
Taking its cue from the popular CBS show, CSI LIVE is an exciting and interactive journey through the fascinating world of crime scene investigations.
Unlike its TV counterpart, the stage version uses a family friendly storyline so parents need not worry about the sight of corpses scattered about the stage while the forensic team tries to unravel a gory crime.
“CSI LIVE captures the cool science and forensic aspects of the TV show, but without the scenes that might not be appropriate for kids,” said Leonard Lipes, the show’s producer.
“Mad Science has earned the trust and respect of parents, by staging shows that are fun, interesting, and educational. And that is what they’ll find with CSI Live. To make sure it is family friendly, none of the charchters on stage dies.”
Set in Las Vegas, CSI LIVE revolves around a crime committed during the premiere of the Max Spade Magic Show.
Before the audience can say “Who did it?” the wise and witty CSI team springs into action, assisted by supervisor Gil Grissom via a video connection from the super cool Las Vegas crime lab.
As the CSI teams delves into the Max Spade case, they realize the need for back up and soon audience members become part of the action.
“One of the greatest things about this show is how the audience gets involved with helping to figure out the crime, and for kids, that is an amazing experience,” Lipes said. “Kids hear a lot about CSI on TV, their parents watch it and talk about the show, so now these same kids are not only going to see a stage version of the show, they also become a key part in trying to solve the crime.”
To solve the Max Spade case, audience and CSI crew will rely upon superior logic, forensic know-how and working together to uncover hidden details, search for evidence and test their theories.
A few of the many methods that will take place include analyzing mysterious gasses, firing a laser beam across the stage and launching projectiles into a target.
“The show isn’t a college class in forensics, but it is educational and gets kids thinking and working together to try and solve a problem,” he said.
CSI LIVE is a production of Mad Science, the world’s leading fun science brand that sparks the imagination of both kids and family audiences with traveling stage productions.
Based in Montreal, Mad Science has developed more than 300 hours of original science content with over 2,000 interactive activities delivered by an extensive network of 150 franchises across 20 countries and 5 continents, staging a quarter million presentations a year, for 5 million customers.
