OWATONNA — This isn’t your classic “Who done it?” show — unless you want it to be.

Coming to Owatonna for the first time, The Mystery Café guarantees that their upcoming “I’ll Be Homicidal for the Holidays” dinner shows at the Owatonna Country Club will have a little something for everyone. Owner of the Minneapolis-based theater company, as well as the writer and producer of the show they will be performing, Brian Kelly, assured that this will be a show you don’t want to miss.

“You get to choose your experience,” Kelly stated. “Whether you want to just watch the show and laugh, if you want to be a part of a musical number, or if you want to take notes and ask questions — it’s all up to the individual. This is built for whatever experience you want.”

The comedy murder-mystery show is set in the ‘70s at a holiday variety show where the leading star has been fading for a number of years. The variety show is meant to serve as the star’s last chance at staying in the spotlight, and the crowd at the country club will serve as the studio audience.

“Unlike a lot of plays, there’s no fourth wall — the audience is there and they are a part of the story,” Kelly explained. “Some of them will become featured stars in the show.”

Kelly said that he is aware of some people’s concern with what “interactive theater” means, but assures everyone that any kind of involvement from audience members will be completely up to the individual. Having been in business for 30 years, Kelly said the cast has become experts at spotting people in the audience who just want to spectate and they are always respectful of the various comfort levels.

“We never go out of our way to embarrass anyone,” he assured.

The dinner will carry on throughout the show, with salads being served upon arrival and the entrée being served in between the first and second act. The dessert will serve as the finale.

During the book-end breaks, Kelly said that people will have the opportunity to interact with each other and with The Mystery Café actors. With the actors staying in character, audience members will have the opportunity to probe them for more information regarding the murder and will even be able to bribe them with “Mystery Money” that they will be provided with at the beginning of the show.

“We award prizes, with one big prize of a tote bag full of Mystery Café merchandise for the person who solves the murder and has the best reason for why,” Kelly said. “We also have three prizes for creative answers that may be wrong but we find funny or super clever.”

This will be The Mystery Café’s first time in Owatonna, and Kelly said that he is excited about the opportunity to expand into a new market.

“We’re hoping that we can bring something to Owatonna that they wouldn’t otherwise be able to get unless they drove to the Cities,” he added. “From what I know there isn’t any interactive theater down that way.”

Not only will the show be new and unique to Owatonna, but Kelly stated that each night they perform will have something new and unique in the performance. Not only will the audience interaction impact the way the show ebbs and flows, Kelly added that they always reconvene as a cast to discuss what is working and what isn’t so they are able to improve and elevate the show.

“So much of the experience takes place during the breaks,” Kelly added as to why the shows are different each night they perform. “It almost can’t be the same thing twice.”

The Mystery Café will be presenting “I’ll Be Homicidal for the Holidays” at the Owatonna Country Club starting Saturday, Dec. 14, and will have a total of six shows spanning four Saturdays. While the first and last shows are already sold out, tickets are still available for the shows on Saturday, Dec. 21, and Saturday, Dec. 28. Both days will feature a 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. performance.

Tickets are $66.50 and include dinner and the show. Tickets can be purchased by visiting TheMysteryCafe.com or by calling 763-566-2583. There are four entrée options to select from upon ticket purchase.

Reach Reporter Annie Granlund at 507-444-2378 or follow her on Twitter @OPPAnnie. ©Copyright 2019 APG Media of Southern Minnesota.