Lucas and Corinne Dame, a brother and sister from Gloucester, seized a recent opportunity to open a mystery dinner theater, called Whodunit Theatre, at the Quality Inn in Williamsburg.
The Mystery Dinner Playhouse in the Quality Inn at 5351 Richmond Road closed in July after almost 20 years in business. With a hole to fill, the inn approached Lucas and Corinne, offering them the opportunity to launch their own mystery-based dinner theater.
“I wasn’t really ready for it, it was just one of those opportunities I didn’t want to pass up,” Lucas said.
Lucas, Whodunit’s owner and producer, and Corinne, artistic director and producer, have experience in performing. Lucas is an amateur standup comedian who has performed at Damon’s Sports Bar & Grill in Gloucester.
Corinne began performing with her church 20 years ago and went to James Madison University where she earned a bachelor’s degree in theater.
“We used to work at a dinner theater ourselves,” Corinne said. “I started and then I brought him into it because I knew how funny and talented he was.”
The siblings worked as performers at the Mystery Dinner Playhouse for eight and 10 years, respectively, so they carried that knowledge and experience forward into Whodunit Theatre. Both performed in the theater’s first performance: “Place Your Bets … or Die!”
“He is very funny and wanted to write his own show,” Corinne said about Lucas, who wrote the majority of the opening performance, which began Friday.
Lucas said a few years ago he started thinking about opening his own mystery dinner theater a few years ago and decided all he needed was advertising and a screen play to be successful. He came up with “Place Your Bets … or Die!” out of a poker enjoyment and appreciation for comedy.
The performance includes two men posing as electricians who are planning to burglarize a casino, Lucas said. The Caedis Hotel and Casino is hosting its grand opening event with a dinner before the casino floor opens. Lucas said a couple barges into the big dinner and other events begin to unfold from there.
For guests who enjoyed the Mystery Dinner Playhouse, they will see improvements with the Whodunit Theatre’s version.
“We are going to try to do it a little bit different-scene wise. It’s still an interactive comedy show. We’re writing the scripts instead of using someone else’s,” Corinne said
Diners who attend the “Place Your Bets … or Die!” show will be provided casino chips to be used to bribe actors in order to solve a mysterious crime.
“They get the opportunity to help us solve a crime, because when a casino [has a name that] means murder, there’s something bound to happen,” Corinne said.
In addition to catching a show, guests will be dining on a four-course meal. The meal will change to coincide with the show running at the time. For the current performance, the meal will include soup, salad, an entrée and dessert with entrée options named after various characters in the performance, including “Dan’s Steak Out,” a prime rib entrée. Guests can choose from a beef, chicken, fish and vegetarian entrée, and there is a chicken tender option for kids.
The performance actors will also be waiters for guests, performing the five-act performance with four intermissions used to serve each course. Coffee, tea and water will be included with the meal, while a bar offers adult-beverage options, also named for characters in the performance.
Whodunit Theatre has seating to accommodate anywhere from 80 to about 120 people, Corinne said. Diners can celebrate birthdays, anniversaries and other special milestones at the theater.
“We just want you to come and enjoy yourselves and laugh with us. That’s our goal. We want people to escape their daily lives and have a little fun and do something different.” You know, don’t go to a move, you can come see a live show,” Corinne said.
For more information about the Whodunit Theatre, visit its website or Facebook page.
