RJC MURDER MYSTERY DINNER
October 26, 2007

This was one of the most unusual dinners that the RJC has ever had.  Many years ago the Mackintosh's did this same type of Murder/Mystery dinner party with the RJC and everyone had a very unique, fun time.  It was hoping that this evening would be just as much fun if not more so!

The Theme:

Being that this was the October dinner Patti Wilder asked the Social Director's, Mike & Kathy Glass, if she could do a theme dinner that she had wanted to do for a long time.  They graciously said yes.  Patti thought it would be fun to do a Murder Mystery theme dinner since this was near Halloween, a time for fright and scare.  Each of four tables had a "How to Host Your Own Murder Mystery Kit" by BePuzzled Games.  These kits came with a guide and scripts for each character in the plays. As people responded to the dinner invitation Patti would let them know which Murder Mystery game they would be in and which character they would be in that game along with costume suggestions.

The four mysteries that were played were:

1. "A Taste for Wine & Murder"
2. "Unhappy Hour"
3. "Bullets & Barbecue"
4. "Murder on the Grill"

 Setting:

These Murder Mystery games were played in the attic dinner area of the Silver Peak Restaurant in Reno, Nevada. The setting was perfect to play these types of suspenseful games.

The Play:

As the RJC members & guest arrived they were to look for the table that had their name and the name of their game displayed in a frame in the center of the table.  They were also to find their nametag at the spot where they were to sit.  At each place setting they would find their script.  To their surprise they also found a "Trick or Treat" bag filled with sweets and a glow in the dark wristband.

On each table there was also a tape recorder with a tape narration in it of their particular game.  The tape explained the mystery scenarios.  Players were to turn the tape player on/off at different times as directed by the narrator.  When the tape recorder was off it was then time for all the suspects to read their lines in their scripts to make accusations as who they thought was the guilty party. These games were three acts in length.  At the end of the game the tape recorder was turned back on and it was then learned who indeed was the murderer at their table!

The Dinner:

As the games were being played members and guests were treated to a delicious dinner.

Everyone started with the Mixed Baby Greens Salad then had a choice of the following entree's:

OVEN ROASTED HALF CHICKEN

PISTACHIO CRUSTED ATLANTIC SALMON

PORTABELLA MUSHROOM RAVIOLI

SLOW ROASTED PRIME RIB OF BEEF

 

For dessert everyone was treated to a Chocolate Decadence Torte.

Conclusion:

Everyone came dressed exquisitely in his or her assigned character's costume, (Please review the pictures that follow).  The costumes were exceptional! 

We had:

an old time doctor,
a cocktail waitress,
a barfly,
a bartender,
a rocket scientist,
a pilot,
a bandito,
a green beret,
a sex therapist,
a gambler,
a saloon girl,
a mail order bride,
a school marm,
a mechanic,
a mystery lady,
a German wine merchant,
a Wine Princess,
a vineyard owner,
a pretty fianc?
a vineyard manager,
a Scottish tourist,
an FBI agent
and other fabulously dressed characters.

 

At first it was worrisome that this whole idea may not work after all.  At the start of the games the noise level at each table was quite high making it difficult for anyone to hear what was being said at their own table.  But as time progressed the noise level stabilized to a tolerable level except for instances of excitement from another table.

The plays were harder to play than expected. The members/guest however figured out how these were to be played and really got into their roles.  Laughter and heated discussions, as prompted by the scripts, were heard throughout the night.

The four murderers in the games were:

"A Taste for Wine & Murder" - Sam Dibitonto - "Papa Vito", a vineyard developer
"Unhappy Hour" - Kathy Dyer - "Ginny Tonick" -  Barfly
"Bullets & Barbecue" - Wendy Buxton - "Sally Forth" - Mail Order Bride
"Murder on the Grill" - Patti Wilder -  "Tiara Diamond" - Miss Kansas City 

Each murderer was given a black rose.

A special thank you goes out to everyone present for being such great sports and doing such an incredible job with their costumes and to Gerard and Lola for helping with the money collection and photos.

Overall it appeared that everyone had a fun, and very unique night!

Below are charts of the game played, the members in each game and their character role in that game.

 

A Taste for Wine & Murder
Member/Guest:	Character:
Pat Keast	Bonny Lass
Bob Price	Bud Wizer
Lani Collins	Tiny Bubbles
Mick Collins	Ralph Rottingrape
Mina Dibitonto	Hedy Shablee
Sam  Dibitonto	Papa Vito
Ellie Richardson	Marilyn Merlot
Larry Richardson	Otto Von Schnapps

 

UnHappy Hour
Member/Guest:	Character:
Sunny Minedew	Dolores Delgatto
Dave  Minedew	Phil Muggs
Harry Keast	Marshall Hartz
Nancy Price	Marlena
Gary Dyer	Willy Krash
Kathy Dyer	Ginny Tonick
Reggie Dunbar	Rita Book

 

Bullets and Barbecue
Member/Guest:	Character:
Iain Buxton	Juan Bandito
Wendy Buxton	Sally Forth
Allan Lum	Doc Mallard
Inga  Lum	Miss Patience
John Wittrig	Rowdy Azell
Debbie  McMurtrey	Bibi Gunn

 

Murder on the Grill
Member:	Character:
Randy Wright	Dan Dragnet
Tony Mitchell	Johnny Angel
Terrie Mitchell	Bobby Sox
Mike Johnson	Ivan Sudnik
Patti Wilder	Tiara Diamond
Jack Campbell	Chubby Cheddar
Pat Campbell	Barby Q
Helpers:
Gerard Garra - Collected the dinner money & took pictures of this event
Lola, Gerard's Guest, added moral support & helped

Write up by Patti Wilder

Photos by Patti Wilder & Gerard Garra