The group of people who started Mystery Café in Boston in 1986 were the pioneers of the style of performance now commonly referred to as “interactive dinner theater.” That group included Lee Adams, who, in 1989, brought this formula back to the Twin Cities, founded Mystery Café, and still runs it today. Long before the wedding shows and the wake shows, before the reunion shows and bingo shows, there was Mystery Café.

When we began, there was no such thing as “participatory theater;” there wasn’t a template or a road map for how to include audiences while still delivering a high quality professional theater experience.

The product that we developed first, and are still probably best known for, is what we now refer to as a “Classic Mystery.” It is a comedy play, performed in four separate 10 to 30 minute scenes. These scenes are performed “environmentally” -  that is, the action occurs throughout the theater, as opposed to at just one end. This gives everyone a first row seat, pulling the audience right into the heart of the story. We take great care in rehearsals to pay attention to sightlines in order to insure there are no bad seats at a Mystery Café show. The audience is seated at round banquet tables of eight to ten. These tables are in full linen dress to accommodate a three-course meal, which is served between the scenes, by the characters in the play. (There is also tableside cocktail service at all our shows.) While these professional actors are serving the meal, they are also available to mingle with you and to answer questions about the mystery. You can even bribe them for clues with fake money you will find in your “Clue Packet.” At some point in the show a major crime is committed (usually a murder, but not always) and the audience gets to try and figure out Whodunnit.

Unlike a lot of other theaters who market themselves as “participatory” or “interactive,” we present scripted, well-rehearsed, polished performances.  At Mystery Café, you’ll know you’ve come to an entertainment event, not just a place where you can mingle with some wise-cracking actors.

One of the most popular parts of these classic mysteries is the Super Sleuth Award.  Toward the very end of the play, the actors drop their characters and assemble to read out loud several of the answer ballots turned in by our guests. There are usually some that are as funny and entertaining as anything we could have written. Each person who gets their answer read to the room receives a little prize from the actors.  And the individual deemed to have written the most correct answer is awarded the accolades (and a T-shirt) of the Super Sleuth Winner!

Another advantage to choosing Mystery Café, is the opportunity our shows afford for you to interact with each other.  The game of trying to solve the mystery – figuring out the clues in the clue packets, bribing the characters – provides a focus for the evening.  Instead of feeling pressure to hold up your end of the conversation, you’ll find the evening unfolds effortlessly as everyone concentrates on sharing information, forming theories, and otherwise dissecting and delighting in the action.  You all are DOING something together, rather than WATCHING something together.

We hope you’ll enjoy one of our shows.  For twenty years we’ve done our level best to provide  top-quality, hilariously funny, and memorable entertainment events for individuals, families, and corporate groups.  We hope we can add you to the list.

Thanks!