New Buena Park Dinner Show Turns Guests Into 1920s Murder Mystery Detectives
- Sharon Stello
- 15 minutes ago
- 7 min read
“The Speakeasy Murder & Other Acts of Prohibition” invites diners to solve a Prohibition-era whodunit – with a different ending every night.
As soon as you step into the room, you’re immersed in a world of mobsters, flappers, bootleggers, mayhem and intrigue at “The Speakeasy Murder & Other Acts of Prohibition,” a new dinner theater experience in Buena Park.
Just up the road from Medieval Times Dinner & Tournament and in the same building as the Pirates Dinner Adventure, “The Speakeasy Murder” adds another entertainment option in town. First launched last year in Orlando, Florida, this interactive show opened its second location here in Orange County in June.
After whispering the secret password to gain entry, guests are transported to a 1920s New York-style nightclub where cocktails flow and colorful characters weave through the crowd, engaging with audience members and performing song and dance numbers onstage, back at the bar and right in the middle of the room as a thrilling murder mystery unfolds.
Guests are invited to dress up in their best Roaring Twenties garb to become fully immersed in the glamorous scene and all are invited to play detective if they choose by bribing characters with play money during intermission in attempts to solve the whodunnit. It’s a fun date night or evening out with friends or family, complete with a three-course prix fixe dinner – and even the dishes follow the theme with names like Mama’s Death By Chocolate Brownie.
Junior detectives are invited to attend, as the show is rated PG-13, but parents should use discretion when deciding whether to bring children as the plot involves murder, and fake gunshots will be heard during the production. The deadly plot is filled with secrets, twists and turns, and audience votes help shape the story so the ending changes from show to show.
“We’ve always believed the most memorable entertainment happens when people become emotionally invested,” said co-creator Erik Hastings. “Rather than creating a traditional fourth wall between performers and audience, we wanted to erase that wall completely. When guests laugh with the characters, question suspects or help uncover clues, they’re creating memories instead of simply watching someone else’s story unfold. Immersive theater allows every audience to shape the evening in its own unique way.”
Captivating the Crowd
Hastings, an Emmy Award-winning comic writer and TV host (“Erik The Travel Guy,” “Beyond Your Backyard”), teamed up with Gary Littman, a Broadway and West End theater producer and accomplished voiceover, TV and stage actor, to develop “The Speakeasy Murder.”
“The show actually traces its roots back to the Midwest in the 1990s,” Littman said. “At the time, Erik was performing in a murder mystery dinner theater that, quite honestly, wasn’t very good. It followed the same predictable formula night after night, and it became clear that audiences deserved something far more entertaining and engaging.
“Instead of accepting the status quo, we decided to create the kind of show we would want to attend ourselves. We wanted a production with strong characters, genuine comedy, live music, audience interaction and a story that felt fresh every single night. Over the years, that original concept has evolved into what is now ‘The Speakeasy Murder & Other Acts of Prohibition.’ While the production has grown tremendously, the philosophy has remained the same: Give audiences something that surprises them, makes them laugh and leaves them feeling like they were part of the story rather than simply watching it.”
Actors stay in character throughout the night, engaging in off-script conversations with audience members, so “from the moment they arrive, they’re part of the world we’ve created,” Hastings added.
“Every performer interacts directly with guests, making every table feel like they’re involved in the story, as much as they want to be,” Hastings said. “There is never any pressure to be involved, which makes this show unique in the dinner theater scene.”
For dinner, guests receive a salad; choice of entree including penne pasta with marinara and meatballs, vegetarian pesto pasta primavera, an herb-roasted quarter chicken or upgrades like grilled salmon or surf and turf; and either the brownie or New York-style cheesecake for dessert. But Hastings noted that they are continually refining the food and beverage offerings and there may be seasonal enhancements or specialty menu items introduced over time.
After a strong start in Orlando, Hastings and Littman were drawn to Orange County, with its theme parks like Disneyland in Anaheim and Knott’s Berry Farm in Buena Park plus a few dinner theater options like Medieval Times and Pirates Dinner Adventure, both in Buena Park, and The Dinner Detective (through at least early October) at the Embassy Suites in Orange.
“Buena Park has become one of Southern California’s premier entertainment destinations …. “We felt it was the perfect place for an immersive experience that offers something different,” Littman said.
In “The Speakeasy Murder,” set in 1929 in a New York City nightclub operated by notorious mob boss Charlie “The Tuna” Scarpelli with the help of Mr. Cain, it quickly becomes evident that something is amiss. While Mama Scarpelli runs the kitchen, singers Rose Meadowlark, Carmen Colada and Tommy Merengue entertain the audience as tension rises between the characters. Soon, everyone becomes a suspect and nothing is as it seems in this era of Prohibition, jazz, and back-alley deals.
PHOTO 1: Mama, played by Donisha Brumfield, talks with guests during the show. PHOTO 2: Characters on stage, from left, Lawrence Lombardo (BJ Grip), Mr. Cain (Andrew Newberg) and Tommy Merengue (Daniel Camacho) during a scene. PHOTO 3: Detectives question the audience from the stage. PHOTO 4: The cast remains in character and interacts with audience members. Photos courtesy of "The Speakeasy Murder & Other Acts of Prohibition"
Behind the Scenes
Bella Gil, one of the actresses playing ingenue Carmen Colada, who clashes with longtime club performer Meadowlark, said she’s thrilled to be part of the show.
“I am an old soul and have always been drawn to jazz and swing so this came as … second nature,” Gil said. “I also love the ensemble nature of this show – there’s no lead character or main protagonist; we truly all work together to create this story and I love stories in which each character plays an important role.”
Gil, a first-generation Ecuadorian actress born and raised in the Washington, D.C., area, moved to Los Angeles as a teenager. Then, as a recent graduate of a performing arts high school, Gil was cast as Maria in “West Side Story” at San Diego County’s Moonlight Amphitheater and has gone on to perform at several regional theaters while also starring in vertical micro-dramas, which are series of one- to three-minute episodes designed to fit smartphone screens. She also wrote, directed, produced and starred in a short film, “The Girl Next Door,” available on YouTube, about Judy Garland struggling to choose whether or not to star in the film “Meet Me in St. Louis.” Additionally, Gil has performed as a vocalist at LA’s popular Vibrato Jazz Grill and Campus Jax in Newport Beach, and recently completed her first national tour in “El Otro Oz,” a bilingual musical retelling of “The Wizard of Oz,” before joining “The Speakeasy Murder” cast.
“I honestly didn’t know I would love playing Carmen so much,” she said. “I’ve been looking for a female role for a long time that I can really dig deep comedically with and this was the perfect opportunity. I’m able to embrace my femininity and also be a total goofball. It’s the perfect playing ground, too, for working on my comedic instincts and improv.”
Gil said staying in character and interacting with the audience is a fun part of the role.
“It’s really easy to be myself,” she said. “I … love feeding off of the audience’s reactions to the silly things I say to them while at their table.”
On the stage or on the screen, Gil loves to entertain.
“As a child, my favorite movie was – and still is – “Singin’ in the Rain,” she said. “I am not exaggerating when I say I watched it every single day. One of my first memories of my life is watching that film and thinking about how I want to be a part of whatever magic was happening on my screen. I wanted to sing, dance, fall in love, make people laugh, cry (and) dream, just like they did in the movies.”
Early on, Gil developed an appreciation for music, especially the jazz genre.
“My father, Tony Gil, is a jazz singer and I grew up listening to his band in our living room or accompanying him to his gigs at D.C. jazz clubs,” she said. “Because of that, I’ve always had a fondness … (for) the Great American Songbook and old standards, singers like Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr. as well as bossa nova greats like Antonio Carlos Jobim and Stan Getz.”
In “The Speakeasy Murder,” Bella Gil is able to combine her passion for acting and jazz several nights a week with the ensemble cast. The production started with one show on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, but in August will be adding a second show on Saturdays and a show on Sunday nights.
And, of course, no two shows are ever the same, so guests can return for a whole new experience to see if they can figure out whodunnit this time.
‘The Speakeasy Murder & Other Acts of Prohibition’
Where: 7600 Beach Blvd., Buena Park
When: 7 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday; in August, a 7 p.m. Sunday show will be added; starting in mid-August, there will be two shows on Saturdays, at 5 p.m. and 8 p.m.
Tickets: $87 for adults and $48 for children, includes dinner and the show
More info: 623-270-5115; speakeasymurder.com
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