Dinner and a murder: Dublin Main Street Players serving up food, fun and mystery at the Ice House

If one is looking for humor, mystery, fun and dinner, then the Dublin Main Street Players has a production for them.

The theater organization returns with “Polter-Heist,” an audience-participation, murder mystery-comedy written by Tony Schwartz and Marylou Ambrose, which will be performed at The Ice House, 213 S. Monroe St., on Oct. 30 and 31. The doors open at 6 p.m., dinner starts at 6:30 p.m. and the master of ceremonies will kick things off around 7 p.m. Tickets are $45 and can be purchased at Colleen’s China, Emerald City Treasures (on Telfair Street) and at Visit Dublin GA with Arilyn Erickson.

Christy Blue returns as the director. “Polter-Heist” is a show the DMSP performed in 2013, she said.

“We are known for our murder mysteries,” Blue said. “It just seemed to work out. I had this and knew we had enough roles for the people we have.”

Besides being a murder mystery that gives the audience a chance to decide the murderer and motive, people will have several chances to win prizes throughout the evening.

“We have never done that before,” Blue said. “The murderer could be different the next night.”

The show begins by introducing Phyllis, played by Nichole Padgett, and Jim Lodge, played by John Daniels.

“I like this show because it is twisty,” Daniels said. “It goes one direction and then leaves the audience in a whole different direction. The characters start off a certain way, and by the end of the play, my own character is different. It’s a lot of fun.”

Padgett enjoys playing a dominant character. 

“She is strong and does not take any crap,” she said. “My character’s relationship (with Jim) reminds me a lot of the ID (Investigation Discovery) TV shows I’ve watched. They do have a dysfunctional relationship. A lot of couples may be able to relate to that.”

Padgett likes the humor in the show, and the fact that the audience will be involved in it.

“I love this type of show more than the stage shows because you are in there with the audience,” she said. “When you are on the stage, it is more nervous. When I do something like this, when I can stand next to someone at a table, I’m not as nervous.”

Mia Berry will be making her DMSP debut as Madam Zelda Von Schpookum, the chairperson of the Bogeyman Outreach Organization (BOO).

“She does everything with so much pizzazz,” Berry said. “It has been so much fun.”

Berry knows she is on stage for almost every page. This type of show is something she enjoys.

“This has such an interesting concept,” she said. “I love a good murder mystery and bringing the audience in on it is really great. It is a lot of fun.”

Heather Rodgers and Tracy Soles play members of the Boo’s Washington, D.C. chapter who are both trying to keep an eye on Professor Lionel Specter, played by Jarred Lord.

Soles is Fox Smolder.

“I like how naive he is,” Soles said. “He believes everything he is told without question.”

Rodgers is Smolder’s partner, Dana Scullery.

“She is no-nonsense,” Rodgers said. “She tells it like she sees it. I’m trying to keep Smolder in line. I don’t do conspiracy theories in the show, or in real life too. But as my character, I’m having to reel (Smolder) back in. It is kind of like being a teacher, which is my real job when I tell my students to focus on their work.”

Like Padgett, Soles enjoys being among the audience.

“I know some people like being on the stage, but I like being in the crowd,” Soles said. “It’s fun being (with DMSP) and the friendships you make. I like the fact that we are a smaller group.”

Though Rodgers and Soles have been in many DMSP productions, this will be the first time that they have been paired up in a show.

“I love that,” she said. “It is good to change up things.”

As Specter, Lord has a chance to do three different accents. There is a scene that is his favorite.

“I am not going to say too much about that,” Lord said. “But that has been fun to play.”

While the majority of the cast have been in DMSP for years, there are a few who have brought their talents to the group.

“They have been a good addition to our group,” Lord said. “It’s been refreshing to have them.”

Blue is also playing Janet from another Planet who is a wacky DJ.

“She is an old hippie who is out of her genre,” she said. “She’s a fun character. I have never had a character that I didn’t fall in love with.”

By the end of both nights, the person who is the murderer will be in the hands of the audience. And like many murder mystery shows, “Polter-Heist” will have many suspects, which is just the way the cast wants it.

“You can pin the murder on most of us,” Daniels said. “The audience should be in their seats until the very, very end.”