Marriage Can Be Murder keeps guests guessing right through dessert
Photo by Christopher DeVargas
The D 6:30 p.m. daily, $54.95-$69.95 VIP, includes dinner. 702.388.2111
The journalist did it. After all, she came alone, took copious notes and, well, looked guilty.
While this writer indeed did not go on a murdering spree in Marriage Can Be Murder, it’s that sort of sleuthing that gets audience members pondering who killed the victims. Here, the best supporting actor could be you.
The interactive dinner show has been a staple in the Las Vegas Valley for more than a decade, and now it’s found a home at the newly renamed D Las Vegas in downtown Las Vegas. The show, a must for fans of the game Clue, mixes comedy and murder that will keep you guessing all the way through dessert.
Creator Eric Post and his wife Jayne run the show. Jayne plays the ditzy blonde and emcee of the show. Eric wears short shorts as a cop, weeding through the clues and interrogating audience members to find out what they saw. Along the way, the two put together the pieces of the puzzle. The victims and the criminals are among the guests sitting in the audience.
A slew of parts are handed out to the audience. Jayne calls for a doctor in the house. None on hand, but an OB/GYN nurse volunteers for the job. She has to pronounce the victims dead. Musicians in the crowd? They’re handed instruments—a plastic saxophone, kazoo and trumpet—to play the body out of the room. Men with beards? They get to carry the dead body out because “a criminal mind hides behind facial hair.” Any law enforcement in the room? They become honorary police officers.
Just as the show starts, murder victim No. 1 walks in as guests start dining on their salads. Thus the cacophony of action starts with the victim declared dead, musicians playing and the body being taken from the room.
Eric enters the room, questioning guests. How did he die? Who was the last person to talk to him? What did you say to him? Eric gathers evidence as Jayne wisecracks from the stage. Guests scribble down their own notes to guess who the murderer is.
Then comes a break, where guests are encouraged to mingle and ask everyone in the room how they would murder someone and who they are at the show with. More clues are divvied out via the show’s Facebook page (facebook.com/MarriageCanBeMurder). Incriminating posts are erased daily so as not to spoil the show.
The entrée comes out, a choice of fish, chicken or beef, as the next murder victim stumbles in the room. More questions, more suspects come out, more intrigue builds. Eric collects evidence that he leaves out for the audience to inspect at the next mingling moment. Figuring out who committed the murder only requires that you pay attention to the clues.
We’ll keep the identity of the murderer under wraps for now, because we wouldn’t want to spoil the show, although the Posts do rewrite the comedy murder mystery every three months to keep it fresh. And the interactive nature of the show means it can change from day to day, depending on how rowdy the crowd is.
