JJ and Kate Musgrove, the husband-and-wife team who founded Sherlock’s Mystery Dinner Theatre usually write, direct and produce their own shows. Sometimes they also perform in the shows.
But for “Therapy Can Be Murder,” they invited regular actor Haley Rice to help write the murder mystery. Kate Musgrove and Rice are colleagues at Columbus State University’s department of theater.
“I pestered them unmercifully,” Rice said.
Click here to find out more about Sherlock's Mystery Dinner Theatre
Doors to the Empire Mills Room in the Columbus Marriott, 800 Front Ave., open at 6:45 p.m.
You’ll be greeted by the house manager, who will check you in and help you find your table.
About five minutes later, the actors will go around the room, asking if you’d like a role. There are some speaking parts; some non-speaking parts.
We recommend that you take on a role. Who knows? You may like it so much that you’ll end up on a Broadway stage one day.
At 7 p.m. sharp the play will start. No one will be allowed in after the show starts, so it pays to be early.
If you have accepted a role, you’ll be given a sheet of paper with your lines — if you have any — and a cue that lets you know when you’re up.
JJ and Kate Musgrove, the husband-and-wife team that began Sherlock’s, promise “thunderous applause” when you finish your part in the play.
Late arrivals will be allowed in after each act.
After Act I, salads will be served. The main meal begins after Act II. After the third act, you’ll be given a form so you can guess who the killer is. After dessert, the forms will be collected. Act IV begins as various suspects are interrogated and then the killer is unveiled.
Those who have guessed correctly will have their names put in a drawing. If your name is drawn, you’ll get a T-shirt.
There’s not a dress code, but the Musgroves ask that you refrain from wearing flip-flops or work T-shirts.
What: “Therapy Can Be Murder,” the brand-new play by Sherlock’s Mystery Dinner Theatre. Tony Dobbins, a famous billionaire self-help guru, returns home to Columbus to hold his seminar, “Unleashing the Hero Within You.” Someone kills him and the audience has to find out who did it.
When: 6:45 p.m. Friday-Saturday, through April 3
Where: Columbus Marriott
Tickets: $45, includes the show and a three-course dinner and beverage. A cash bar is available.
Information: 706-718-7494
The Musgroves relented and Rice wrote the show with the Musgroves’ input. The story is about a self-help guru, Tony Dobbins (think Tony Robbins) who returns to his hometown of Columbus to conduct his very lucrative workshop, “Unleashing the Hero Within You.” The two actors, Rice and Adam Archer, play various heroes and audience members play their sidekicks. Most come from comic books or popular culture. There’s Han Solo and Chewbacca, Sheriff Andy Taylor and Barney Fife and Peter Pan and Tinkerbell.
As usual, as the audience members file into the Marriott Hotel, they will be asked if they’d like a role.
Naturally, Dobbins is murdered and the audience has to figure out whodunit. JJ Musgrove promises the death is creative.
“We’re always trying to find new ways to kill (characters),” he said.
This show also features a puppet. Kate Musgrove, who is a trained puppeteer, taught Archer the finer points of the art.
“I’ve been practicing on my own,” Archer said. “I have to keep the puppet ‘alive.’ ”
The Musgroves are delighted that the mystery dinners have become successful. They credit Fort Benning and its various graduations for much of the success. Relatives of soldiers want entertainment after the ceremonies. And they’ve discovered Sherlock’s. For locals, JJ Musgrove said the word-of-mouth reputation has been strong.
Besides the plays, what keeps locals coming back is the “tasty food” provided by the chefs of the Marriott. “Therapy Can Be Murder” is the seventh play of this theater company. While presenting these productions is “labor intensive,” Kate Musgrove said they are still having fun. She especially enjoys the element of surprise that the audience brings. “You never know what the audience will do.”
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