By George Basler

The Peaches and Crime musical ensemble will present its latest “You-Decide-Homicide” at 7:30 p.m. Saturday (Jan. 13) at the Cider Mill Stage in Endicott.

The eight-member group features musicians who take up alter egos when performing in vintage outfits. Their original songs are written in the style of jazz and blues from roughly the 1920s to the 1950s.

The group, formed in Binghamton in 2009, has “gigged” its way through New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. “We’re first and foremost a band,” said group member Angela Schwartz. But Peaches and Crime’s act also features comedy skits and theatrical elements. Included in its repertoire are murder mystery shows that raise the group’s theatrical elements to a fever pitch.

Group members Daniel Schwartz and Charles Berman created the show debuting at the Cider Mill in the mold of an old-time radio show.

A tongue-in-cheek advance supplied by Peaches and Crime summarizes the plot this way: “Mystery novelist Merope Cooper is hunting the most dangerous game, an affordable apartment in Brooklyn! When a corpse and a live snake enter the mix. It’s a breakneck adventure into Spiritualism, rival authors and jaywalking that will challenge even her deductive acumen! Help solve this boggling mystery before the rent is due! Brought to you by Joy-Bran Breakfast Cereal.”

Audience participation is a key part of the show, Angela Schwartz said. At four points in the performance, Peaches and Crime will pause the action and ask audience members to vote with a show of hands on how the play should proceed. This means the show could have a new lease on death every time it’s performed.
What won’t change is the group’s flurry of high-energy whimsy that promises to be on full display at the Cider Mill Stage.

 IF YOU GO: The cabaret act Peaches and Crime will perform its latest murder mystery at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 13, at the Cider Mill Stage, 2 Nanticoke Ave., Endicott. Tickets at $30 (including fees) are available at www.cidermillstage.com.