Believe no one. Doubt everything. We all lie.
That’s the advice given to attendees of The Dinner Detective True Crime Mystery Dinner Show. That, and enjoy your wedge salad, dinner rolls, chicken breast Provençal or cauliflower potato cake and a dessert based on the whim of the chef.
“It’s immersive theater, it’s social, there are lots of breaks for people to talk to each other,” said Stephen Wilder, Dinner Detective’s chief technology officer and co-executive producer. He also acts in the shows. “I don’t consider it cheesy, but it’s not a serious show. We have a lot of fun with it. It’s not dour or grim.”
The upcoming three-hour events are Saturday, Jan. 18, Feb. 14-15 and 22, and March 8 and 22 at Great Wolf Lodge.
This is a night for people who love a mystery or like to observe other people getting to the bottom of whodunit. While the five to seven local actors in the cast love when audience members play along with them, there’s no requirement to do so. You can sit back, butter your roll and enjoy the antics.
The evening proceeds as you might expect: A murder takes place, but the victim might be someone you weren’t expecting. Perhaps the charming woman sitting next to you making small talk. You thought she was enjoying a solo night out at the theater until she’s suddenly collapsed on the floor and someone is taping an outline around her body.
“It’s not your typical show. There are lots of twists and turns, lots of surprises,” Wilder said. “We don’t tell you who the actors are. We tell them anyone in this room can end up being part of this show. We talk to as many people in the audience as we can.”
Dinner Detective scripts are based on real-life cold cases and set in the present day and time.
“The show is 60% to 70% scripted. The rest we improvise,” Wilder said. “We’ve never done the same show twice. Even though there is a plot, the plot can divert in many different ways. If we’re doing our jobs right, we want the audience to wonder was that scripted or did it really happen? We want them to be unsure at as many turns as possible.”
If you’re paying attention, you’ll deduce the killer, who isn’t chosen randomly or by audience vote. And the audience member who comes closest to naming the killer and details of the murder will win a prize package of commemorative items valued at more than $100.
“People enjoy puzzles. That’s something that has been the case since the beginning of history,” Wilder said. “They like to have something presented and for someone to say there’s a solution to this, figure it out. We clearly lay everything out so that everyone gets to have the same chance at winning.”
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