It's A Mystery is a Triangle-based theater troupe creating outstanding interactive entertainment for the region's world class corporations, hotels, country clubs, non-profit organizations, wineries and private parties.

Since 1996, owner Marjorie Strauss, writer Susanne Arrington and their cast of crazy characters have been creating magic for audiences ranging in size from 10 to 300.

Whether your goal is team-building, rewarding your employees, impressing your clients, engaging your members, raising money, or enticing your guests to spend a fun-filled evening at your venue, It's A Mystery delivers killer performances that will make your event unforgettable.

How it works

You provide the venue and the menu, and we provide the entertainment from cocktails to curtain call, with a healthy dose of comedy and intrigue in between. The zany characters of It's A Mystery love to play with the audience, so we take the opportunity to interact with your group during a cocktail half hour prior to the show. We'll arrive in character and let everyone get a glimpse of what's to come. It's A Mystery will provide you with program information in advance of your event so that you can print programs to be handed out to your guests as they arrive. This will help them get to know the backgrounds of the characters and allow them to start speculating about who will do what to whom.

After your group has been seated, salads will be set and the action begins. (We recommend that you pre-set salads for large groups.) Act 1 is made up of a series of vignettes between two to three characters who flirt, argue and ridicule their way through pertinent clues revealing the relationships and backgrounds that will lead to ... dah, dah, dah ... the end of the road for one of the characters.

Act 1 takes approximately 30 minutes. The Stiff is removed and so are the salad plates. Next up is the presentation of the Main Course by the wait staff.

Act 2 begins when the remaining five suspects enter and are seated in the center of the room. The Detective takes over the investigation and examines the evidence thus far. During the Main Course, more meaty details are uncovered. And then, just when you thought it was safe to check your teeth for bits of green ... dah, dah, dah ... another victim bites the dust. The plot thickens. Act 2 lasts approximately 25 minutes.

Dinner plates are cleared and so is the body. While dessert is being served, the Detective serves up instructions on how each table should form their own detective agency, choose a "chief detective" and formulate questions that will be asked of the remaining suspects. The "agencies" get 10 minutes to come up with the perfect questions to crack the case.

During Questioning, the remaining suspects are at the mercy of the chief detectives and their posses. Now is your time to try to learn the truth. But remember, someone who will commit murder will most likely lie about it, and other things as well. The length of time questioning takes depends on the size, creativity, and enthusiasm of the crowd.

The characters are sent back to their holding cell while each detective agency discusses "who dun it and why." The first agency to turn in the most correct answer wins. It's A Mystery will supply the solution sheets; you provide the pre-set writing implements. We allow 10 minutes for the guests to solve the crime.

You know the end is near when Act 3 begins. This is where we find out who the culprit is and why he/she/they did the dastardly deeds. This takes about 10 minutes. After the confession, the cast members return and announce the winning table. Most clients choose to provide a small prize to each guest at the winning table.