The Dinner Detective Offers A Night of Crime-Solving Entertainment

Dinner and a movie can be such an overdone date idea; instead, why not try something new and exciting, such as solving a murder together?

 

OK, not actually, but attending The Dinner Detective in Little Rock promises to be a night of fast-paced entertainment that offers the chance to try one’s hand at cracking a case, said Whitney Axley-Andrews, owner.

 

“We are unlike any other murder mystery show out there,” she said. “We are a one-of-a-kind experience. We are a very high-energy, comedic show. We’re like Saturday Night Live meets Law & Order.”

 

The Dinner Detective was started by Scott O’Brien, a screenwriter who has worked on scripts based on real crime cases. One night, he went to a murder mystery dinner show with his wife, and the rest is history.

 

“He hated it. He thought the show was terrible,” Axley-Andrews said, “so he thought, ‘I can do better than this.’ He decided he was going to develop a murder mystery that was an improv-based, very dynamic, flexible, relevant, modern take on the show.”

 

 

The first show took place in November 2004 Culver City, California, and it was a hit with the audience. Axley-Andrews had recently moved from Charlotte, North Carolina, to California and saw an audition notice for the new show. She joined the cast and performed in about 80 Dinner Detective shows the first year.

 

“Everything was brand new; they were just learning starting out,” she said.

 

She worked with the show for about four years and then decided she wanted to move back east. O’Brien had begun to franchise the show in Denver and offered her a chance to franchise, as well. A few years later, in 2014, she started her first Dinner Detective attraction in Atlanta.

 

“Twenty-seven locations later, we basically own all of the shows in the Southeast, anywhere from South Carolina to Miami over to San Antonio, Texas,” she said.

 

Axley-Andrews started the Little Rock location in 2017. The group has contracted with a few different local hotel venues for their events and landed at the Holiday Inn Presidential in downtown Little Rock, where the show has been for many years now.

 

The public Dinner Detective show in Little Rock runs twice a month, typically every other Saturday night. Audiences can expect a night full of surprises, starting when guests’ are greeted by the host, who is one of the actors. As soon as people enter the room, they become suspects. Everyone is encouraged to mingle and observe the space before the show starts. There are also actors hidden among the guests.

 

 

Next, the crime occurs, suspects are introduced, and the investigation starts. As dinner arrives, the mystery unfolds. After that comes the time to interrogate suspects, compare notes with others and compete for the title of top sleuth. Anyone in the room could be the killer.

 

Finally, everyone submits their answer form naming who they think did it, and the killer is unmasked.

 

“When someone comes to our show, they’re going to be wowed, they are going to be surprised, and they are probably going to really have to think outside the box,” she said.

 

In addition to the bimonthly shows, The Dinner Detective does command performances for birthday parties, corporate events or any private event where the host wants their guests to experience an interactive show.

 

“Private events are really customized and personalized to the group themselves,” Axley-Andrews said. “We set up a conference call with the client and really do a deep dive into their show.”

 

About eight actors are needed for every show, and the cast is made up of locals who auditioned for spots after seeing casting calls.

 

 

Michaela McCollum has been with the show for years. When she is not doing a Dinner Detective show, she is working as an educator, attending school full time or teaching dance classes.

 

Steven Brashear is still new to the game, having been hired earlier this year. A National Guard recruiter by day, Brashear said he enjoys the chance to show his creative side when performing. He had done improvisation work in the past but did not see himself doing it professionally until he tried out for The Dinner Detective.

 

“I am more of an introvert at heart, but I have always enjoyed being goofy, having fun with folks, entertaining,” he said.

 

Even though a lot of the show is improvised, there are five different scripts that rotate through the act as the bones of the story. No matter the script the actors are using, every single show is different from the last.

 

“If somebody came one month and then two months later, they are going to have a very different experience,” Axley-Andrews said.

 

“[Repeat guests] just mean that they love what we do,” McCollum said.

 

The improvisation that the shows call for help keep actors engaged show after show.

 

“It’s challenging to put myself into different scenarios and having to think on my feet quickly,” Brashear said. “I really enjoy that challenge.”

 

 

Both McCollum and Brashear agree that the best part of their jobs is seeing the excitement from the audience and putting smiles on the guests’ faces.

 

“Maybe somebody is coming to a show, they’ve bought tickets, but they’re having a rough night, and they’re probably thinking ‘I bought these tickets, but I don’t really feel like going. I wish I could just stay home,’” McCollum said. “We get to make them forget about their problems and be happy that they came.”

 

Tickets for the public show in Little Rock are $71.68 per person, which includes the experience, as well as dinner.

 

“My greatest joy for my work is to be able to provide so much fun and laughter to people,” Axley-Andrews said.

 

Photos courtesy of The Dinner Detective