Recipe for murder spices up menu at Egg & I

Kimberley McGee

Friday, June 9, 2000 | 9:17 a.m.

Gunshots, grub and games. All are available during a night at the mystery dinner-theater show, "Marriage Can Be Murder," which offers up a comedic whodunit for amateur sleuths to dabble in while enjoying a poultry platter.

The slightly longer than two-hour play runs through July 8, at 7 p.m. Thursday through Saturday at the Egg & I at 2455 W. Sahara Ave. Tickets are $39.95 and include salad, dinner with a choice of three entrees (with names such as Chicken in a Casket or Dead Cow Walking) and dessert.

On a recent night a few more than 40 murder suspects, ur, guests sat at long tables and got to know each other over $4-dollar glasses of wine and imported beer before the play began.

The hostess and principal of the cast, Jayne Post, plays blond-haired floozy D.D., who is capable of landing a stinging one-liner right between the eyes of an unsuspecting guest. Post's husband, Eric, complements her ditzy with glitzy as the baffled detective lieutenant/straight man.

The real fun begins about a half hour into the play and just after the salad course: A would-be assassin is shot down by detective Post. From there, guests try to figure out who's next, who will do it, and why.

While guests eat limp lettuce floating in watery dressing, the play picks up speed and begins to attract attention with D.D.'s fine-tuned banter. A loud bang (about as loud as a balloon popping) of simulated gunfire from the middle of the room reminds the lulled audience why they forked over their money in the first place: Someone is about to die.

New-found friends made from pre-show socializing begin to turn on each other and point fingers when fellow guests (or are they?) are asked to cruise the room to look for anyone suspicious.

One woman is singled out as particularly shifty-eyed. When asked who she is with, her answer creates a an audible and accusing "Ah-ha!" from other guests -- she is alone! Those tallying the score scribble down their suspicions.

The fake blood from the murders looks real enough to emit a few groans from guests before the main course is served, but the dinner plates were still cleaned of food after the entrees were served. In fact, praise for the food created a bit of a din of chatter above the actors' improvised lines.

Fortunately, detective Post brings the audience back when he scuffles with the suddenly useless D.D., whose role as guide through the play has ended, although she still shoots acidic remarks. He recaps his "investigation" and plays a little question-and-answer session with the now-stuffed crowd to get them excited again about finding the killer (or killers).

Only one guest (the woman who had inspired suspicion when she said she was alone) took good aim with a shot in the dark and named the killer. Once the guesses were tallied an innocent couple from Erie, Ind., had been fingered by quite a few other participants.

All in all, "Marriage" is a small, well-thought-out, well-executed play. The actors who sat among the crowd did an excellent job of duping willing participants, and there were only a few bumps or jolts to knock the guests out of character.