Large Group Murder Mystery Games For Dinner Party Fun • Corporate Team Bonding • Fundraisers • Special Events

I just came back from one of the most enjoyably gratifying events of my life. Granted, I've only been alive for 16 years, but this is definitely one I will remember. At my high school, I am the Treasurer of our Thespian Society Chapter. We were very low in club funds so we decided to put on a Murder Mystery Dinner to raise money. I was the director and organizer of the event, and the materials that came with the "Final Cut" mystery game were such a big help. The student actors thoroughly enjoyed breaking from the standard "stage performance" and exploring interactive and improvisational theater. We had a caterer, raffles, place cards, sternos, everything to make the dinner legitimate and, in a way, classy. The audience absolutely loved the performance. EVERYONE in the high school cafeteria enjoyed themselves tremendously, and we were able to raise over $500. Great idea > Also, I had made a copies of every document that would have wound up on the evidence table and put each set in a manila envelope, labeled "CONFIDENTIAL" (like Clue!). Before the cast left the room for the audience to fill out their evidence records, they passed these envelopes on to each table. This worked out very well for us, and may a useful tip for future Dinner Organizers, as opposed to everyone crowding around the one evidence table. Thank you so much for the basis for an amazing evening. We hope to make this an annual event, and we will of course use you next time =) Sincerely, Maria Knieste and the Hills West Thespian Society, Dix Hill, NY

Hey there! This is Sarah Dalbey, the choral director from McMinn County High School in Athens, TN, and we just finished our second and last night of the murder mystery dinner theater using "Mafia Murders." We had about 90 people each night, and for a rural community, that's pretty amazing. I was surprised to see how many guests dressed up as well. It was an awesome night for everyone involved, so I thought I'd pass the word along. My students loved dressing up and putting it on, which probably makes it the funniest test grade they've ever had ;). Anyway, just wanted to drop you a note to let you know they loved it - they're saying it's the most fun they've ever had! I look forward to doing this again next year! -Sarah

I'm a high school theatre teacher and my students and I just finally finished reading through Next of Kin today! We've been looking for something to do for our fall show and your script is the first one we've read that we all liked and felt like it would be something fun to present. We've been thru probably five or six melodramas this week alone. I just happened to stumble on your web site one evening as my search was reaching the frustration level. These are advance theatre students and I wanted a show that would encourage some improv, and boy your script does that! We especially love Ashley's poem "Ode to Big Daddy." I've never laughed so hard as watching one of my boys act out that poem while one of my girls did a reeeeeaaaalllllly bad interpretative dance to the recitation! The stage directions and additional information makes doing this show, well, really DOable! One of the show stealers I'm quite certain will be when Savannah comes in wearing a pair of big daddy's boxers! The characters are so fresh and so much in need of all being put into a sanitarium.... for a long long time! Thanks for checking up on us, too... I may just have to pick another show for next fall, too! I think this could be addictive. Jacquie Pritchard, Wallis, TX

This past weekend my daughter and 7 friends performed 'Murder on Maui' for her 15th birthday! What a blast they had. They are already talking about what murder mystery she will pick for next year!! We opted for the narrator version and what a difference it made to the girls coming out of their shells and giving it their all. They loved it! Not having to memorize any lines took all the fear away of forgetting something and they were able to totally relax and just have fun. Thank you! My younger daughter is celebrating her 14th birthday in a month or so and wants to find a murder mystery for her and her friends. I think we have started a trend. Thank you again and I am sure we will be back in the very near future to buy script number 2! Debbi Leusink, Airdrie, Alberta

We just did The Mafia Murders, and it was wonderful. I think it's the best $25.00 our club has ever spent! I sponsor a group of teenagers who performed the script on their own. Thanks for an excellent product. Great idea > I xeroxed the packet (nicknames, 20s history, costume illustrations). Then, I modified the invitation a little. I printed the invitation in color and the packet in white. Next, I rolled it up together diploma style and taped it. I got some cheap roses (for girls) and carnations (for boys). I put them inside the diploma style invitation/packet, so it almost looked like there was a paper vase around each flower. I then had these delivered to the participants' homerooms the day before the dinner. I mentioned that they could bring the flower or wear it, and that it was a sign that they were an honored guest of the Don. This added a bit of anticipation. I went by the name "Mama", saying that I was like a "mother to Waldo and Donato and that really everyone saw me as their Mama." I chatted with the guests, doing my best to reinforce what was going on in the play as it went along. The guests really ate this up. Thanks again for a great product. I've already passed your name/website along to others. Your product is excellent and deserves as much business as possible. Ayn Nys, Houston, TX

I just wanted to let you know what a HUGE success my daughters Next of Kin mystery party was. We had all girls, my daughter played Big Daddy and Ashley - we had a blast! Our family had done Murder Mystery parties in the past, but this was the first for all of my daughters friends. Thanks so much for having a good product that I could manipulate and use for 14 year olds. Sincerely, Chris Callahan, Frisco, TX

Once I got the kids on stage, the script was really easy to follow. They absolutely love it! And rehearsal is fun because it's such a fun script. I've already heard comments such as "I hope we do this every year!" These kids are having a ball, and I am too!! Thanks for the follow up. Corrie Napier, Northridge High School, Greeley, CO

Our swim team performed "The Demise of the Downhome Dealers" as a team fundraiser. Yours was the first Murder Mystery any of us had tried, so we were very inexperienced. Everyone insists that is the most fun they have ever had! Our first, but definitely not our last, mystery dinner party, was a huge success. We even had many people ask on their way out, if we were going to do another performance the next night. For anyone out there worried about content or "age" appropriate material, please know that the scripts are very easy to edit for anyone's situation. Thanks for giving us this opportunity. Wendi Sink, Henry County Hurricanes, Bassett, VA

I REALLY love what you've put together here! This looks like great fun, and I am excited about performing it. As a teacher, I recognize all the planning that went in on your end to make it easier on this end...and I TRULY appreciate it. You've got an awesome product that makes it very easy for anyone from a beginner to a drama teacher to stage a great production. Sincerely, Corrie Ballard, Mount Dora, FL

My daughter had her party for a bunch of 17-19 years olds. They did the play Next of Kin and it worked out great even though they had very little preparation. The foaming alka selzer (a poison trick) was a big hit. The "cat fight" between Philly and Savannah (2 characters in the mystery) went over VERY WELL and the recitation of the poem with the interpretive dancing was hysterical. Thanks for your help. We are so glad that we chose Next of Kin for her 17th birthday party. Sincerely, Debi Frantz, Oviedo FL

The Murder in Maui mystery game was so much fun! My 15 year old daughter was having a luau themed birthday party with about 15 guests. I tried to be very hands-off (she's the independent type :)) and she handled the whole thing with ease. I was able to simply obtain any necessary items for her, but she took care of printing the scripts and getting them to the suspects ahead of time and she played the narrator in the version where no one knows, but her, who did it. The girls were really into it, even the ones that had to play male characters (complete with fake beard!) Bottom line is...they were able to understand and play the characters, they ran the entire mystery by themselves, and they had a really great time! Thank you for asking. Barbara from Bakersfield, CA

Well, we finally performed "Next of Kin" for a group of approximately 40 youth that were 16 & 17 years old. We had the male leaders of our church organization perform the duties of "butlers" as they served the food. When "Big Daddy" died it was hard to find anyone willing to remove the body. By the time Ashley was murdered, there was more than enough volunteers. One such volunteer provided CPR.  It was such a surprise and shocking to "Ashley" since he wasn't really prepared for such audience participation that one of the guests made the comment that he had never seen a "happier dead person."   All in all, we consider it a very successful evening.   We talked so much about the success of the evening that we have now been requested to put together a mystery theatre for a family reunion in August.   Again, thanks for a great evening! Karen Hunter,

Just wanted to let you know we had our murder mystery dinner (Murder at the Midnight Hour) and it went GREAT!!! The kids were phenomenal! We weren't able to get together as a complete group until noon the day of the dinner and after running through the script I wondered how in the world it would all come together, but it did! The kids had fun performing and the guests really enjoyed it. I plan to share our experience with other church youth groups. It was a refreshing change from doing the standard dinner. PS: Thanks for your ideas in altering the script, it worked out fine. Judy Flier, Wyoming, MI

The mystery was a big hit with the kids even though we didn't do a great job following the script. No one seemed to notice our mistakes and they all talked about in school on Monday. The parents kept asking how I came up with such a creative idea...I told them to get on your website. Thanks for your help creating a unique birthday to remember!! Kelly Briers, Huntington, WV

The Next of Kin murder mystery was simply wonderful!!!! It was used for my daughter Lauren's Sweet 16 birthday party. She invited 18 of her friends. Good idea to try if you don't want the prime suspects to know whodunit > We both agreed that we didn't want the kids to know the end before they got started. So Lauren distributed Script Part A on Friday morning. The kids were given instructions to read and walk in the door as their character. They were told that they would get the next section Saturday night. Part B was given to them after Ashley's poem and Melanie's dance. Part C was given after the murder. The kids came dressed in1970's clothing (oh... so long ago). The kids memorized their parts and they were well prepared for the event. Even the kids who were minor suspects were prepared to embellish their characters. They also got into the Gone with the Wind characters. The kids and adults had a grand time. The idea was unusual and they thoroughly enjoyed participating. On the following Monday, teachers told me that the kids talked about it and several of the kids gave me hugs as I walked through the hallway. I know I've gotten long winded. but I wanted to share the event with you. Thank you so much! Lezlie Thompson

Just to let you know, that I bought the package for the Mafia Murders right at the last minute with only a week to prep a murder mystery for a youth camp event - but the result was brilliant! Everyone had loads of fun and just the right number of people worked it all out - a great success, and my cast were fantastic too. Thank you for such a good resource, it was very easy to use. Best wishes, Helen Baker, London, England.

The Mafia Murders was actually the second murder mystery I purchased. The first was from another company and it was a mobster's daughters wedding storyline for approx $58. I am a PTO board member for a Performing Arts Academy High School in NJ. We opted for the murder mystery because it can showcase the talent of our kids which always brings the parents out, as well as raise funds with a minimal amount of time required by the very dedicated but busy board members. The first mystery (the one from the other company) was a disappointment because it had very little guidance for a novice (which we are). Yours was a completely different story (pardon the pun) ! It will guide us through each and every step including the timing of dinner. Thanks so much for making it that easy! With our kids who are used to improv and quick study scripts it should be a success. Debi Bilotta, Toms River, NJ

Hi Susan --Just wanted you to know that our murder mystery production went quite well. The kids (our cast) surprised me with their abilities. They had a lot of fun with it and were successful in getting the audience involved. One adult leader told me it was “the most fun activity I've been to."  So, thank you for your help!  Tina Young, Helotes, TX

LOL. This game was hilarious. A couple of friends and I (our average age about 14) tried to do the Final Cut Murder Mystery. The weather was awful on our vacation in Hawaii so we decided to do this. Little did we know it was supposed to take about a bit of time to set up. We did the whole thing in about two hours. Hilarious. A bunch of inept kids trying to do this. We decided to just make a dramatic movie out of it and read through the script. We did use some props, but it was just fun. We had a great, hectic, unplanned, fun time! Thank you! Wyatt Robertson, Newport Beach CA