Close Menu
Berlin, Ocean Pines News Worcester County Bayside Gazette Logo Berlin, Ocean Pines News Worcester County Bayside Gazette

410-723-6397

The Globe murder mystery dinners

 BERLIN – Murder mystery dinners with a humorous twist have been presented at The Globe on Broad Street in downtown Berlin for years, and its core group of about a dozen local actors have grown so close, each entertainer bounces off of the another effortlessly to provide the audience with a fun, interactive and "PG" rated evening.

"We’re all kind of a big family," said Tony Matrona, member of “Murder for Hire,” the acting group that comes to The Globe at least once a month to perform a two-hour murder mystery dinner in its upstairs dining room.

Each show is a new script that is almost always based on a current event, as exemplified by the most recent showing on Friday called, "Dying to Debate." In that show, one of two candidates vying for a Worcester County position suddenly fell to the ground in the middle of the debate and was subsequently pronounced dead.

Before the show begins, the actors come out to the floor in character to mingle with guests.

Audience members can participate as much or as little as they want. A polite decline to initiate conversation is all that’s needed. Certain chairs are designated for the actors to let guests seat themselves appropriately.

Matrona said although each actor follows a script, all interactions with guests are done by improvisation.

An actor then welcomes guests to the evening while instructing them to look for clues to determine who was responsible for the criminal act.

The show then proceeds, with actors constantly interacting with the audience and littering jokes throughout the script.

"It’s as much of a comedy as it is a murder mystery," Matrona said.

Characters are outlandish, such as the other candidate, played by Richard Dize, whose sole campaign promise is that he’s "for the people," and an Italian gangster played by Frank Nanna, who swears his job is legitimate and that he’s performing a public service.

Although a few jokes could be considered dirty to some, including a couple of references to a certain political intern who made national headlines during President Clinton’s term in office, no curses are uttered and all content is still family-friendly.

Jennifer David, owner of The Globe, recommends those interested in bringing children to call ahead of time to determine if the material is too mature.

Though each line is scripted, Nanna said the final draft is reviewed by each actor, and lines are changed to each actor’s liking.

"We like to change lines to say what we believe would be the words of our character," Nanna said.

A piece of paper and pencil are placed at each seat, encouraging guests to write down notes so that once the victim has been confirmed dead, they can write who they think the culprit is, how they did it and why the act was done.

Submissions are then judged by the actors in a back room and prizes are given to the top three guesses.

Prizes can be anything such as a ticket to the next murder mystery dinner or The Globe-themed shirts, hats and more.

Tickets are $25, which pays for a table for the show.

Guests are welcome to purchase food and drink from the restaurant during the evening, as tables are serviced during the murder mystery show, but are not required to do so.

For more information, call The Globe at 410-641-0784