Was it murder or just ghostly pranks? By Walter Lunt

Amateur sleuths can expect a “spirited” evening of fun, intrigue and friendly competition during the 17^th annual Mystery Dinner Theater at Spring Meadows Golf and Country Club in. This Saturday will be the final show. 

The dinner theater will be presented in three acts. “During or following Act 2, the audience discovers that one of the cast has been murdered. Then,  along with dessert,  a detective shows up for Act 3 and helps the audience pull together what they have seen and heard as well as brings in new information to help solve the crime and interrogate the suspects.  The audience may join in on the interrogation or they can guess based on their own conclusions,” said producer Dawn Sample. 

Volunteers from Windham Center Stage, the sponsor of the event, say Karaoke Crime ‘Seen’ is an “outrageous paranormal investigation into the haunted Flamingo Bar by a bunch of insane paranormal investigators who have to sing to see and prove there are ghosts.” All this leads to the question: Is it murder, or simply apparitional antics?

Teams of private investigators seated at individual tables must examine the plot, construed by Windham Center Stage actors, and solve the mystery. The first to do so win passes to an upcoming WCS production.

“In the case of our plays, the cast may or may not know who committed the crime as we vary the ending for each performance-the cast brings the ending script each performance.  The audience and detective use the information they have been given and each table attempts to guess who did it.  The first table to get the correct answer wins based on the time they submit it,” said Sample.  “They can change their answer at any time and submit a new solution, however, each new guess replaces the table’s previous one.  So a table might initially be correct then they decide collectively to replace their first guess and their old answer will be thrown out.”

Even if groups don’t win, there are other things to watch for. Over the years, the cast has incorporated repeating jokes or props that the audience comes to recognize and appreciate. 

“These are silly little things but it gives the audience a connection that people seem to enjoy and find funny,” Sample said. 

Local patrons have two chances to crack the Karaoke crime with the “opportunity to be entertained as well as to ‘play’ a bit of a social game and interact with table partners which may be friends or strangers for a common goal of trying to guess what happened and win a prize,” Sample added.  

The final show will be presented on April 16^th at 6:30 p.m. at Spring Meadows. A $38 ticket also includes dinner (prime rib, chicken or stuffed shells and dessert). A group can reserve a table for $288. For tickets and more information go to www.windhamtheater.org, e-mail at  windhamcenterstagetheater@gmail.com, or call 893-2098. Reservations are required.

“We all need to laugh out loud and enjoy ourselves,” said Sample. “Come and be entertained, and you never know, you may find yourself at the winning table!”