Borderlands Theatre premieres new murder mystery with Tucson twist
Arizona Daily Star: Cathalena E. Burch, Jan 20, 2026
The King of Southwesteros has been murdered, and the rumor mill is cranking overtime with possible suspects.
But most folks in Borderlands Theater‘s musical “Blame of Thrones: A Chicano Murder Mystery Dinner Theater” are far more focused on who will take the throne.
There’s a line of people from four wildly chaotic kingdoms “all thirsty for this power,” said playwright Jonathan Heras. “Everybody wants to be king. Everybody wants to be queen.”
And all of them think they have a rightful claim to wear the crown, which gives them motive for murder.
“Blame of Thrones,” a parody of “Game of Thrones” that Borderlands is presenting Jan. 29-Feb. 1, is a classic murder mystery with some nods to Tucson.
Could the killer be the Cannisters (Tinyon, Kursi and Jaime) from the House of OroVallia? Maybe it’s Juan Snow, The Bastard of Winterhaven, or Kalichi of Dragons from the House Menloparkia? Or could it be Wildthing from the House Three Points?
From left, Kursi of Orovalia (Jordan Sierbert) and Juan Snow (Ivan Medina) are among the suspects in Borderlands Theater’s “Blame of Thrones: A Chicano Murder Mystery Dinner Theater.”
Lilianna Espinoza
“It’s essentially poking fun of the little kingdoms. If you zoom out of Tucson from top view, you could almost see all these tiny little kingdoms all over Tucson,” said Heras, who has worked with Borderlands Theater for 20 years, the last eight or so as the full-time development director. “It’s essentially kind of poking fun of that in a sense, but not too seriously.”
This is the second play Heras, Salpointe Catholic High School’s Monte Award-winning musical director, has written for Borderlands. His 2024 play “Antígona 3.0” was selected for the national theater festival Encuentro 2024 at the Los Angeles Theatre Center and later toured Denver.
Last November, his musical “Lotería: This Game is No Juego” was presented by Live Theatre Workshop.
“Blame of Thrones” is performed in English and Spanglish — “There is one character who (speaks) predominantly Spanish until she gets hit in the head with a frying pan and then starts speaking English,” said Heras, who is directing the production.
There’s a three-course royal feast “because it’s not a murder mystery unless someone dies full” and dinner theater usually means dinner. Warning, though: You might want to skip the wine. Rumor has it that it might be poisoned.
Pay attention to the plot twists because your presence is not solely as an observer. You are a witness to a murder, and in the end, you and your fellow audience members will decide whodunnit.
That’s what makes “Blame of Thrones” so much fun. Each night will reveal a different murderer.
Borderlands Theater will perform the show at 7 p.m. nightly Jan. 29-Feb. 1 at the Bell Tower on Stone, 200 E. Yavapai Road. Tickets are $71.49 with fees through borderlandstheater.org, with proceeds benefitting the theater’s children’s programming.