Mysteriously Yours: Once Upon a Murder
Friday, February 22, 2013
Once upon a time, in a faraway land, lived a talented cast of fairytale proportions. Brought to life by the producers of Apprentice to Murder and The Fine Art of Murder, Mysteriously Yours... Mystery Dinner Theatre introduces the latest show Once Upon a Murder full of familiar characters the likes of which you once read about as a child. Enter Prince Charmin, Jack Beanstalk, Sleeping Beauty, Little Red Riding Hood, the Big Bad Wolf, and the Fairy Godmother.
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| Prince Charmin played by Ian Ronningen |
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| Sleeping Beauty Princess Celeste played by Birgitte Solem |
An eclectic array of guests has gathered to celebrate the matrimony of Prince Charmin and Princess Celeste, including Jack Beanstalk, a brave environmentalist and vegan trying to save the Enchanted Forest, and the homeless Lupo, played by Tom Melissis. You may recognize the latter from his regular appearances on Degrassi: The Next Generation and, one of my personal favourites, Due South.
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| Lupo, the Big Bad Wolf, played by Tom Melissis |
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| Jack Beanstalk played by Simon Esler |
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| The Queen played by Barb Scheffler |
Not long after the festivities begin, the Queen is murdered leaving behind her golden crown and royale throne to her heiress Princess Celeste. Bummer. On the heals of said tragedy, the Fairy Godmother appears and begins an investigation which leads her to believe the Queen was poisoned.
In between acts, the characters mingled with dinner guests dropping hints as to whodunit. Could it be Lupo, son of King Inigo the Magnificent who was put to death by order of the Queen? Lupo, who bears an uncanny resemblance to Inigo Montoya of The Princess Pride and who dons tight tights like no man's business?
Could the Queen have been poisoned via Lupo's rose, Jack's brooch, a glass of champagne, or a handkerchief? Who could be the culprit and what could be his or her motive? If you enjoy mystery and intrigue, you will surely enjoy Once Upon a Murder. The opening performance was very well executed and was replete with hilarious puns and glib repartee. Even unsuspecting dinner guests took part such as the lovely Phyllis who was celebrating her 90th birthday and nearly beheaded Little Red Riding Hood with her impressive karate moves.
A night out at Mysteriously Yours... Mystery Dinner Theatre would be incomplete without a delectable four-course meal which included a fabulous salmon dish with shrimp Marie Rose sauce on a bed of rice. The portion was almost too much for me. In hindsight, I should have eaten less of the arugula salad seeing as I am not a fan of creamy Stilton vinaigrette.
The chocolate brownie served with Triple Sec chocolate ganache was sublime. Compliments to Executive Chef Rossy Earle! Alongside my partenaire en crime, I thoroughly enjoyed Once Upon a Murder and would highly recommend it to one and all. I enjoyed it just as much as Apprentice to Murder and very much appreciated the humour behind our complimentary takeaway:
Congratulations to the cast for putting on a fantastic show and a big thanks goes out to the producers Lili and Brian Caws for having us as your guests!
Additional Reviews:
Apprentice to Murder (You're Fired!) - Spring 2012
The Fine Art of Murder - Fall 2012
Uptwon Abbey - Summer 2013
Speakeasy - Spring 2014
Getting Hitched - Winter 2015
10 COMMENTS
It looks like it was a real fun event. Dinner shows are so much fun.
ReplyDeleteI had a blast, Dianne! This is totally up my alley. :)
DeleteI've never been to one, but it looks entertaining. Putting this on my must-do-one-day list!!
ReplyDeleteThis is my third time and I thoroughly enjoyed it!
DeleteI've never been to a Murder Mystery Dinner, I think I was afraid both the food and the story would not appeal, you have just proven how wrong I was!! This looks like so much fun. Oh and that dessert :)
ReplyDeleteSo far, the food has been pretty good and I always get a kick out of how interactive the actors are with the guests. They have to be pretty quick on the feet when they improvise with dinner guests.
DeleteYou're VERY quick with the posts :) Mark me IMPRESSED! I'm going to get mine out in the morning!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Casey! Looking forward to reading your thoughts. :)
DeleteYou're VERY quick with the posts :) Mark me IMPRESSED! I'm going to get mine out in the morning!
ReplyDeleteWOW! Looks like you all had an amazing time, and the dinner/dessert looks simply scrumptious!! Will definitely check into this.
ReplyDeleteThanks for taking the time to leave a comment here on Toronto Teacher Mom. Hope you have a great day!