A few weeks ago, in what turned out to be the last date night we had before Gus arrived, Matt and I went to our very first murder mystery dinner. For those of you who have never attended a murder mystery dinner, but have wanted to, here's my advice: Do it and do it now!
The show (Crime & Pun-ishment) was hosted by the Murder Mystery Company at the Astor Hotel. The Astor Hotel was THE perfect location for a 1920s-themed show. When we received our tickets, it did encourage us to dress the part for the show. To be honest, I was a little nervous about that. What if no one else was dressed up? Would we look like we were way too in it? Plus, I was 8.5 months pregnant. I've never seen a flapper in her third trimester ;) In the end, not wanting to miss out an opportunity to wear a costume overruled any fears of being the only ones dressed up. I decided to just go for it and got some simple accessories for Matt and I. As soon as we got there, I immediately wished I would've gone all out on the costumes! Just about everyone was super decked out. And, if they weren't, they honestly looked out of place. So, if you decide to go to a Murder Mystery Company show, my first piece of advice would be to dress up and do it big! It honestly seems to unite everyone at the show and makes you feel like you already know them.
We arrived at the Astor a little early, so we grabbed something to drink at the bar while we waited. We ended up running in to a friend (Hi Erin!) and her husband, along with a couple of their friends. It was so nice to see some familiar faces as we speculated about what the night would hold for us.
As soon as the ballroom doors opened and we were able to get in, we already felt like we were a part of the show. The actors were already in character as they checked us in and showed us to our seats. The murder mystery had begun!
I love seeing all the flappers and mobsters in this picture.
We ended up sitting at the same table as our friends and one other couple. As we were being introduced to the events for the evening, we learned we had to work as a team with our table. So, it was so nice to already know some of the people we were sitting with! A night out with the Murder Mystery Company would be such a fun time with a large group (bachelor/bachlorette party, birthday, etc.).
Before we knew it, someone had been murdered! I was sort of waiting on the edge of my seat until this happened. The murder turned out to be a bit more comical than dramatic, which I totally appreciated.
As we all were introduced to the game and our roles as detectives, some of the audience members turned in to suspects. Here was my one little critique from the whole evening: Most of the audience members who ended up as characters did so well! They were in to their roles and totally played the parts. However, some of them were just not as outgoing and seemed a little embarrassed about their parts. It would've been great if these people would've been vetted a little bit more. I'm not entirely sure how that would've happened. Maybe we could've said whether we were interested in participating or not when we bought our tickets? Or, maybe the actors could've quickly asked as they chose roles? Like I said, most of them were great, but others were just not it to it, which sort of took away from the experience.
Someone was just MURDERED! ;)
I should mention, as all of this was happening, dinner was also being served. We were able to choose our meals when we got our tickets. (It was included in the ticket price.) Matt and I both went for a roast beef, and it was really good. In addition to the main course, we also had salad, bread, and dessert. I was definitely stuffed after it all. Drinks were not included in our ticket, which is totally understandable.
Once all of the suspects were introduced, it was now our turn to go around and talk to everyone. We had some fake money for bribery and were told that everyone had to answer every question asked of them honestly. This is where everyone got so in to it. It was so much fun! Everyone at our table was working together, taking notes, and splitting up who we should talk to in order to make sure we interviewed all suspects.
Here's Matt listening intently as suspects are interviewed.
Money that doubled with some possible leads for solving the murder.
Once we had a little bit of time to talk to everyone, a few more clues were introduced. Then, more time to interview suspects since more information was given. Finally, one more round of clues and more time to talk. After a little bit more time for discussion, it was time for our table to write down and submit who we thought the murderer was. It wasn't enough to name the suspect, we also had to write down all the clues that led us to our decision. The table that had the most detail in their answer, in addition to the correct murderer, would be the winners. Our table successfully guessed the murderer! We were not the overall winners because I guess someone had just a little more detail than we did. But, if you ask me, we totally were the winners. ;)
When I asked my husband his overall opinion of the night, his response was, "Dinner, entertainment, suspense, involvement, what more could you want?" And, that just about sums it up. It was a great night out, and definitely way different than anything we've ever done! If you're looking for a special date night or planning an event for a group of people, I would highly recommend a night with the Murder Mystery Company. It will not only provide an entertaining night, but something to talk about for weeks to come. It definitely left us with a bunch of fun memories to look back on and a night we'll never forget.
Thanks to the Murder Mystery Company for having us! We'll definitely be back.
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