We love murder mystery dinner theater and this was the 7th one we've attended spanning 2 states and several companies. This one, unfortunately, is at the bottom of the list. The food was fine, although the brownie with a dollop of whip cream was the poorest desert of all of them and they did not offer coffee as the others did. The venue, at Orange Tree Resort was a poor choice of rooms, because for the first time during one of these shows, I was distracted by the TV screens at the bar that were clearly visible through the trellis like divider above the main action. I watched kitchen help constantly scurrying back and forth at the far end of the room. I thought they were actors at first. (They were not serving our food...they were working somewhere else in the hotel.) Then there was a large party next door that constantly played music which could be heard and at
times drowned out the dialogue. Never mind the laughing children from the party running in the courtyard seen through the windows. The director Matt Clarke was great as he warmed up the crowd and played a character as wonderfully animated and captivating as a professional actor should. Layla Amerson was a hoot as the main character and quite engaging with audience involvement and dramatic flair. She had a sense of great comedic timing. The others could have been salesmen or employees handed a script right before the show. They didn't project. The words were not enunciated. They seemed uncomfortable. They did not draw the audience in or captivate them. Apparently people who have never been to one of these didn't have a clue (ha-ha) or had a little too much alcohol, because there were titters and moments of laughter. I would rate it a D on a A-F scale. To end the evening the fire alarm went off as desert was being served and the actors motioned for us to evacuate the room. We kept on going to our car. I don't feel good about posting this because I love theater and the arts, but people, get your act together. You're giving murder mystery dinner theater a bad name for the newbies.