Three courses of murder at Toronto’s Mysteriously Yours… dinner theatre.

If you loved Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys, and Agatha Christie growing up, and/or love The Apprentice, you’ll definitely enjoy Apprentice To Murder: You’re Fired (Mysteriously Yours…) an interactive Mystery Dinner Theatre show based on Celebrity Apprentice.

Located on Yonge street, just north of Davisville, the Mysteriously Yours… evening consists of a three-course meal (which is, by the way, as delicious as the website claims it is). You start with a soup or salad, have a choice of mains and finish with an extremely indulgent dessert. Alcohol is available but not included in the price of your ticket.

Dinner starts at 6:30, but many get there for later. Around 8pm the actors saunter in, dressed in character to mingle with the audience. This particular cast of celebrities included real estate mogul The Donald, mean-spirited glee-club hating Coach Sue Polyester, smooth talk show host Regis Fildin, living proof of manufactured youth Joan Rivets, a not-quite-sober Lindsay Lohest, a definitely-not-sober Gary Boozy, and the pink haired eccentric artiste, Madame Gaga.

They make conversation and jokes with the audience (be warned those seated towards the outside edge of the table will get picked on the most). They are completely at ease with total strangers, which I imagine must be exhausting to do night after night. The show kicks off towards 8:30 pm.

In the play, we are watching the Celebrity Apprentice season finale live. The two remaining contestants Sue Polyester and Gary Boozy plan to battle it out, and Lindsay Lohest talks her way back onto the show for one final episode by threatening to reveal a secret about The Donald. Regis is gunning for The Donald’s job but Joan Rivets has already snagged it. In spite of these tensions, everything seems to be going well until suddenly, one of the celebrities turns up dead.

The cast launches into an investigation of the murder, getting into details of who would have motives for wanting someone dead. The audience has a space at the back of their program to take notes and gather clues. It turns out that everyone has a secret, and as each covert rivalry comes to light, we get closer and closer to the truth.

At a certain point in the story you have been given enough information to solve the murder case. At this point, you receive ballots to say who you think did it and why. If you guess it right, you stand to win a prize. To our disappointment, our server explained there are no cars or Caribbean vacations to be won, but it’s still worth the guess.

You will be sitting next to strangers unless you go in a big group, and you may be asked to participate. But there is very little embarrassment; it’s mostly a lot of fun and very entertaining. It’s pretty family friendly overall, which was an added benefit. My show partner liked it as much as I did, and said it was fantastic entertainment.

If you haven’t experienced a murder mystery dinner theatre before, it’s a fun, relaxing and interesting way to spend an evening. I’m excited to see what Mysteriously Yours… has coming up next.

 

Details

– Apprentice To Murder: You’re Fired is playing at Mysteriously Yours… Mystery Dinner Theatre (2026 Yonge Street Street) until September 15, 2012 (There is an additional matinee show on October 31, 2012)
– Shows run Saturday and Sunday at 8pm
– Ticket prices range from $66-$71
– Tickets are available online, or at the door