Art imitates life in Alex Murdaugh's Hampton County with murder-themed masquerade ball

When the judging eyes of the world are on your town, you can walk around and hang your head in shame — or you can make a community theater production about it.

Art is imitating life in rural Hampton County, home of disbarred South Carolina attorney Richard "Alex" Murdaugh, who currently stands accused of crimes ranging from murder and drug charges to embezzlement and fraud. In the shadow of this ongoing crime saga, Hampton County Arts have recently announced a Murder Mystery Masquerade Ball set for Saturday, Oct. 29, in the Stanley Arts Center, with a plot that might sound hauntingly familiar to many.

While this arts event is based on a fictitious scenario in fictional "Frampton County," it has striking similarities to real current events gripping Hampton County and the SC Lowcountry. Here is a teaser from the Hampton County Arts Facebook page:

"Rural Frampton County is an isolated community which was recently the center of a nationwide scandal when a prominent local official was arrested on very serious charges. The local citizenry is so divided about the allegations that they have taken to bickering in the streets and many now believe the entire local government is corrupt. Nevertheless, the brazen County Arts director loves the drama and is hosting a mysterious masquerade ball at the Arts Center. Tickets are selling out in record time. Many are questioning her judgment while others are already busy finding the perfect gown and mask. With so many known enemies gathered in one place, hiding behind their masks, the setting is ripe...for MURDER!"

The Alex Murdaugh case brings inspiration

Murdaugh, formerly a fourth-generation attorney from a prominent family with deep roots in Hampton County, is currently jailed in Richland County on a $7 million bond in what is arguably one of the most high-profile and sensational cases in South Carolina legal history. Murdaugh is facing more than 90 criminal charges — including charges that he murdered his wife and son -— after an alleged decade-long, multi-county crime spree.

But Heather Bruemmer, Executive Director of the Hampton Friends of the Arts, is quick to point out that this event was not inspired by the Murdaugh crime saga, nor is it based on the tragic events surrounding the Murdaugh family, but was more of a crazy coincidence that inspired her creativity to make the most of bad publicity.

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"I purchased a kit to throw a murder mystery party and the storyline that they already had was so close to home that I decided to take a little creative liberty with it and make it our own," said Bruemmer. "People are asking me if our masquerade is based on the actual events that occurred in the Murdaugh case. It's not. We would never make light of what happened to the victims or attempt to reenact a real crime like that.

"Where art imitates life here is the way in which this murder mystery addresses the aftermath of a big scandal in a small community. In our fictional Frampton County, everyone is pointing fingers, making accusations about who in the government was complicit, they're mad at the press. That's something that has really happened here. However, once all the dust settles, we're still a small place and we're still all going to have to live together. Maybe if we can laugh together, we can get past this."

Murdaugh family saga casts critical eye on Hampton County

Since 2019, as crimes related to Murdaugh and his late son, Paul, became public, first statewide and then on an international level, Hampton County has found itself in an intense media and social media spotlight that many in the community have found disheartening and embarrassing. Out-of-town people on social media have expressed opinions that the county is basically a "backward" hotbed of "backwoods corruption."

The criminal scandal has also engulfed other local officials and attorneys, as well as bankers at Palmetto State Bank, a local business that, like Murdaugh's ancestral family law firm, has been a landmark institution in this area for more than a century.

Faced with these added challenges, people like Bruemmer and others in county government and economic development are still working to promote the arts and hopefully make Hampton County a better, more attractive place for visitors, they say. Local leaders like Bruemmer want to remind people that this Lowcountry destination is still a good place filled with good people, a small town full of potential and yearning to grow.

Want to go to the murder masquerade ball?

If you wish to attend this event, tickets are available at www.palmettotheater.org. When you buy a ticket, you will be issued your identity as a citizen of Frampton County so you can come to the ball in character. A short introductory video will introduce the guests to what has been going on in the Frampton community, and at some point during the evening, there will be a murder. Members of the arts group will be playing specific roles, and some of the guests will just be playing roles they are assigned.

Spoiler alert: A wealthy businessman is being sued by someone who has a vendetta, and a journalist plays a major role.

"It won't require any acting on the part of the average guest, but they will need to socialize and pay attention to have a shot at finding out who the murderer is," said Bruemmer. "They can also 'bribe' my staff with cash for clues, and the money will get split evenly between tips and a donation to The Art Center. Beyond that, it's basically a party. We'll have food, wine and beer, and there will be a DJ and some performances."

"I think it's going to be a very fun event if we can get people to come out," added Bruemmer.

For space reasons, only 100 tickets are available for this event, so interested people are urged to reserve their tickets promptly. VIP tickets are available that will include the murder mystery ball as well as an 11 p.m. Guided Candlelight Walking Tour of Historic Downtown Hampton after the ball.

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Is Alex Murdaugh case inspiration for murder-themed masquerade ball?