Tacoma Little Theatre’s Murder Mystery Dinners return with Knock ‘Em Dead
One thing that the 21st century has unequivocally proven is that there is no shortage of amateur sleuths who are dying for the opportunity to put Poirot, Holmes, Marlowe, Columbo, the Hardy Boys, and Nancy Drew out of business. The miraculous return of the TV show Unsolved Mysteries in 2019 was the natural extension of a population that had been trained to follow clues and get to the bottom of things.
If you fancy yourself a part-time gumshoe, you may be interested to know that the game is once again afoot, with the return of Tacoma Little Theatre’s Murder Mystery Dinners. These evenings of interactive theatre began in 2017 as fundraisers for TLT before they broke out and became regular productions. TLT put on three of them a year until the COVID pandemic forced them to go on hiatus. 2024 saw their return, and November 20 marks the opening night of the first Murder Mystery Dinner of the season.
Titled Knock ‘Em Dead, this mystery, written by Paula Hilton and directed by Micheal O’Hara, is set in the glamorous world of show biz, where the faces you meet on the way up to stardom are the same ones you see on the way back down. As an audience member, you’ll not only be treated to dinner and a show, but the opportunity to solve a murder in an industry where backstabbing is one of the only ways to get ahead.
The show’s cast is a mixture of regular TLT players and newcomers: Jefferey Swiney-Weaver, Charlie Stevens, LaNita Hudson Walters, Sharry O’Hare, Jacob Vaille, and Jen Aylsworth. Their characters are divas, agents, has-beens, never-weres, and hangers-on.
Naturally, interactive murder mysteries are something of a departure from your average theatrical experience. We spoke to Chris Serface — who is not only the managing artistic director of TLT, but has both starred in and directed these shows — about the nuances of pulling off a successful murder mystery.
“You are interacting with audience members, so you have to be careful that anything you say can’t be taken out of context to give them false clues for a murder mystery,” Serface says. “Ultimately, you have the person who committed the murder, or whatever the hijinks are that happen in the piece, and there’s always a bit of an improv feel to it, as well. There’s a script, but you also have interactions with the audience, so if they stop you and start asking you questions, you need to have a good backstory prepared and be making sure that all your answers gel with the other actors’ as well. Otherwise, you send people in the wrong directions.”
If you’re not the kind of person who jumps at the chance to get involved in the action, Serface assures us that it’s perfectly fine for you to just sit back and enjoy the show. But, Serface says, it’s not uncommon for audience members to take pages of notes (or several napkins’ worth) and tirelessly work to solve the whodunnit. For one show, Serface says, a mystery book club was in attendance, hoping to flex their deductive skills.
Think you’ve got what it takes to blow this thing wide open? Turn in your badge, tell your secretary to hold your calls, and see if you can crack the case.
Photos courtesy Tacoma Little Theatre.
WHAT:
Knock ‘Em Dead: A Murder Mystery Dining Experience
WHEN:
7 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, Nov. 20-23, 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 24
WHERE:
La Quinta Inn, 1425 E 27th Street, Tacoma
COST:
$80 for dinner, show, and gratuity
LEARN MORE:
(253) 272-2281, tacomalittletheatre.com