Audience Plays Detective at Tartan Dinner Theater Show

When 10 student actors take the stage Friday and Saturday to perform the Boardwalk Melody Hour Murders, the audience will have a role to play, too: detective.

For the first time, Tartan’s drama department is putting on an interactive murder mystery dinner theater show, said director Ryan DeLaCroix. Audience members will be seated on the auditorium stage—transformed into a 1932 Atlantic City ballroom—where the actors will put on a show in their midst while they dine.

In the play, as radio show is going on, which murders, beatings and baby thefts occur, DeLaCroix said.

“It’s kind of a mix of tongue-in-cheek and kooky and just fun comedy,” he said. “It’s a chance for the audience to have some fun and the kids to do something different.”

It’s a whodunit where audience members will get a chance to ask questions of the suspects, he said, which means the cast members have to be ready to improvise.

To prepare for the unpredictability of the show, cast members have been asking each other questions and creating scenarios of things that happened in their characters’ lives, actor Brian Broszko said.

“It’s hard to sometimes keep a straight face while communicating with people,” said Broszko, who plays Sammy "Pretty Boy" Bambino, a radio host and retired boxer.

About 70 tickets are available for each of the performances at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday night May 6 and 7. The meal, provided by Kane's Catering, will include chicken, wild rice, salad, breads, vegetables and chocolate cake, DeLaCroix said.

On Friday, about half of the tickets were still available. Tickets are $30 each and reservations can be made by emailing RDeLaCroix@isd622.org or calling 651-702-8814 by Wednesday, May 4.