We just attended the Murder Mystery Dinner theater show at the spaghetti factory in Riverside and had so much fun we immediately got tickets for our next show. The actors did such an incredible job playing their parts, keeping us engaged, and ensuring we all got all of the necessary clues to make our case. Everything was so well put together and was such a good time right from the start standing in line. Can't give enough praises!! read more

I booked the Murder Mystery Co in July for my milestone birthday in late October (busy Halloween weekend, so I made sure to call over 3 months in advance). I informed the representative that I was expecting 20-30 guests, however it was not confirmed yet, so she advised me to book a 1-actor package and call ahead when I have a firmer guest count to upgrade to a 2-actor package if needed. I signed the contract, and submitted the deposit. I called on Sept 14th (6 weeks before my event) to upgrade to a 2-actor package because I understood that the max guest count for 1-actor is 20 people. My upgrade was confirmed on the phone and in writing via confirmation email. Four days later (after I had already sent out invitations), I received a call explaining that they were no longer able to accommodate my event because no additional actors were available. Therefore I would need to either reduce my guest count or cancel. On top of that, my event details form was edited without my consent to indicate a max guest count of 19 people. This experience felt unprofessional and unreliable. There was no remedy offered to amend the situation. In fact, I had to call and argue for my deposit to be refunded (which it eventually was, in full). The representative on the phone spent more time explaining how I signed a contract for 1-actor without understanding that their company had confirmed my 2-actor package and then rescinded it at my expense. It should also be noted that there is no maximum guest count noted on your contract. I cannot recommend this company for any events based on this experience. read more

This was a wonderful experience! It was my first time attending one of these productions, so I was very surprised when I was selected to be one of the suspects. I was nervous and kind of messing up, but the cast was very quick in handling the different scenarios that were occurring while helping myself and the other selected guests get through the various scenes. The cast was Nick, River, and Imani, they are amazing actors!! I will definitely be coming to experience another show. read more

Wow, I'm surprised to see so many negative reviews! We had the best experience. We book our date months ago, and put down 50% as a deposit in August. Our event was yesterday - the 80s themed one. Our actors, Ashley and Danielle, touched bases the day before and showed up right on time yesterday. They made the event so fun and got all of our crowd involved (there were about 45 of us). Everyone had a blast and we'd totally recommend the company! read more

I booked The Murder Mystery Company for my team's holiday dinner and it was a great experience from start to finish. We had two actors for a 15 person event and everyone had a fantastic time. The actors were super funny and everyone had fun participating, even if it wasn't their kind of thing. I would definitely book them again! read more

Booked a murder mystery for my 30th birthday back in March but it was canceled due to Covid-19. I was told at the time they would not refund me but I could reschedule. Here we are now in September I tried to reschedule (for my nieces 21st bday) and received the following email "Fri, Aug 21, 3:21 PM to me Hi Molly, I looked into September 26th for you and I'm afraid I have some bad news. I see that you are in Colorado. Typically we would send actors from Denver, but our Denver troupe is currently closed. We don't know when they will be able to resume live events, but we are working hard to make that as soon as possible. If there are any other dates later in the year or in 2021 that I can look into for you let me know! Until then we will plan to keep you updated on the status of our Colorado troupe." I made other plans and asked for a refund. I was emailed again a week later only to be told my refund was denied because they are able to reschedule... I had already made other plans and I am super frustrated with this company. I will never reschedule with this company. $400 down the drain buyer beware! read more

Jay was amazing...kept everyone on track (and that's pretty hard with adults that have been drinking ). Very professional. Once he put on his costume he NEVER broke character...would definitely recommend! read more

My friend had a Groupon to come to this event at the Spaghetti Factory in Duarte. I hope it wasn't expensive because I have mixed feelings about this event. I have to start off by saying that the spaghetti factory is a horrible cheap place to have this murder mystery dinner. The room it's self is decorated very nice, what I am referring to as being horrible is the food. The meal started off with a very small garden salad. I don't know how you mess up a salad, but the dressing was like a watery Cesar, and the lettuce was wilted. I only had a couple bites. Bread and butter were complementary, they were fine. We had two options for dinner. Both were pasta dishes. The pasta came out watery and gross. Drinks were extra and the dinner ended with some spumoni ice cream . Needless to say I left hungry. The servers were very nice, but they were obviously understaffed for this event because getting a refill or anything else was almost impossible. The actors for the murder mystery were high energy and fun. They stayed in character and looked like they enjoyed their job. Be ready for audience participation. Some guests are picked to play characters and you are expected to make rounds to all the tables to gather clues and info. This is kinda awkward when you're trying to eat. Each table is a team , so be prepared to socialize with your teammates. My table mates made the event fun, but the whole thing was kind of cheesy. Some people dressed up some people didn't. Some people participated, some people didn't. When you first get there you were able to take fun pictures for purchase. The Groupon says $20 a picture. But , it turns out $20 a person per picture. Or at least that's what the guy at my table was charged for him and his girlfriend. Needless to say I didn't need a picture . The cheap food and expensive pictures is probably how they make any profit, so I get it. I had an OK time because I went with my friend. I would not choose to come here by myself or on a date. I don't think I would come back even if it was free. It was an experience it once kind of thing. read more

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The Murder Mystery Company appears to be a scam. I booked an event for Halloween 2023 over two months in advance and paid the deposit up-front. I received an email asking for the final payment and paid two days earlier than their stated due date. Within 1 hour of paying the final amount they sent me an email stating my event was cancelled. Then they told me my initial deposit was non-refundable. These people are horrible. read more

My family and I attended a murder mystery weekend at the Omni La Costa resort and we had the best time. The mysteries were fun to solve, the actors and their characters were so engaging and kind and all attendees were involved in the stories in one way or another. It was a super weekend with lots of fun and laughs and I would definitely do it again. Cheers to the troupe of talented people who were involved. Bravo!!! read more

We used the Murder Mystery Company for a private holiday work event on 12/9/2023. We went with the gangster wedding mystery. They were AMAZING from start to finish. Setting up the event was easy; they took care of all the details. But to show took the cake, they mingled with all of our people and somehow managed to find the perfect people to play the suspects, not sure how they did that in 1 hour of talking to 60 people. The actors were cheesy, but in a great way, they were over the top and took the rest of us with them. It was a fabulous we have never had so much fun. A week and a half later it is still being talked about. I keep hearing they want to do it again!! Would highly recommend!!! read more

Hired them for my 80s themed murder mystery birthday party, and had a blast. Terra and Luke were great at working the room and propelling the game forward. I never had to do a thing except play. It was fun, funny and very entertaining. I would recommend it to anyone who wants to host a unique party. And if you dont want to host it at your house, I recommend using peerspace.com to find a venue thats right for you. read more

The Murder Mystery - Performing Arts Near Me - Riverside, California

My sister in law surprised my brother with a 1920's themed party and a murder mystery event. Everything was so great! Amber, Ashley and David were so amazing! They truly made the night magical! Very professional to deal with and a pleasure. Thanks again for such a great memory! read more

I really hate to say this, but this was no fun. I was looking forward to a Murder Mystery dinner for a long time, so when this deal popped up on Groupon, my boyfriend bought us some tickets. He said "It was worse than I expected." I would have to agree. You sit down and there is a soggy salad waiting for you. Once you get that out of the way (literally since who would eat that), you get carne asada and chicken with dried up spanish rice and refried beans and two dried up tortillas. I guarantee you will leave here hungry. Dessert was no redemption. The churro with ice cream was rock solid. I think I could have easy broke my grills if I bit instead of cut. So dining was yuck. I spent an extra $30 just to get some liquor in my tummy to enjoy it a little more. As for the show, it's fine. My boyfriend was SUPER sick and he happened to have ended up being the murderer. It kinda sucked cause him being a key player meant little interaction. It was just not well played out and I think it was a cheap production. Sorry. read more

Meh is the best description of this. Here's how it all went: The cast of four is already in character when you check in--bad costumes, accents and all. I realize that there's supposed to be a campiness to this, but it really was not that impressive. You're then assigned to a group. Next, you're asked to go to the photographer to get your picture taken. You can already see what's coming next--yep, a picture you will pay to get. Not a big deal except in the context of the whole event. It'll be clearer as I go through describing the evening. There are props like hats, glasses and feather boas to use. Pass on the hats for me. I don't want to get cooties from the hat that EVERYONE has worn. Next, the waitress comes and asks for credit cards for drinks and tips. The cast comes around and hands out instruction binders and assigns someone in the group to be a character in the event. Because they don't ask if people want to participate before picking, they inevitably pick someone who was so not interested. It then pretty much sets the tone for the event. The show relies too much on the participation. We are given instructions for how this whole thing works. It is kind of confusing what you're supposed to be doing. You're supposed to be going around talking to people to get clues to solve the mystery. So if the characters they pick are just sitting there and don't understand the instructions from the binder, there will be mass confusion. The funny thing was most people were walking around complaining about the fact that they didn't know they had to do so much work when they paid to be entertained. You get dinner through mid event, and it was smart of them to do skewers. They were easy to consume when sitting around the coffee tables. Then more bad acting ensues, followed by the picking of the winning group. I think whoever has the best story gets picked. We next get the previously described picture for $20. Then the drink tab and the $9 gratuity per attendee. Oh yes, there was the $6 for the valet. And the event was not that fun. This is really a 1.5 star review. I added 0.5 for sympathy because the actors were trying. And I didn't even take points off for placing me next to someone with some BO issues. It was dizzying and made it hard to concentrate on the event. read more

Vince L gives a SPOT ON review. Actually the reviews here are all really good (meaning accurate in the 1 and 2 star ratings), this event requires too much work, not enough direction and it was confusing. In a nutshell - the "participants" (who are just guests) don't volunteer & don't know their lines or roles. The "murderer" at our event also won for the most oblivious - meaning these 2 couples (one was selected to participate) just wanted to have dinner, see a show, have fun. She had no idea she was the "murderer" and didn't participate at all. The "participants" had to LEARN who they were, how they were related to all the other "participants" and then try to figure out WHO DONE IT - a lame guess for all - a lot to ask for from someone that may or may not be into participating. I acted as the note taker at our table which was a lot of work. It's hard to get audience participation when they don't know they are to participate. One lady at our table was in Murder Mystery Dinners (YEARS ago - as an actress) and she even thought it was EH..... It was LAME...would have been more disappointed without the Groupon. read more

DO NOT PAY FULL PRICE $60 FOR THIS. WAIT FOR GROUPON DEAL!! We end up paying full price because the only night the group of us can go is SOLD OUT on groupon deal, since it is a goodbye party, we decided to go for $60 full price. The show location was at Old Spaghetti Factory in Duarte. The show was held at the left side banquet room, because of the design of room, if you are sitting on the booth by the window, you can't see the other side of the room, Most of the time, we can't hear anything due to the echo in the room, the actors are more like READING a story rather than acting, their costume were old and torn. Since we can't really see anything and hear anything, it did become a Mystery dinner for us. I guess it can be an entertaining night with friends when the price is right, it is NOT WORTH $60 at all. * No comment on the food, it is the same old spaghettie factory food, but the server was nice and did her best to check on all tables* read more

This company is great! We had a 40th birthday party at our house and invited two murder mystery actors and it was perfect. They were super funny and what I loved most about it was that they made sure everybody was engaged in the party and everyone had to work in teams. In order to solve the mystery, people had to walk around and talk to other people and that was a perfect ice breaker. I definitely recommend them! read more

Today we went to the show in Duarte at the Old Spaghetti Factory. Loved the venue as it's an old school (supposedly haunted too) wooo downstairs bathroom beware! Well I brought my mom for her bday and my sis. We all had a fantastic time! The actresses and actor were fantastic and hilarious. We loved the murder plot and how they involved the audience to participate. The whole event was hilarious, interesting and just fun to discuss who dun it! Food was good! Not super fancy but I liked it as well my mom and sis. They gave us a three course which included salad, pasta, and bowl of ice cream Anyway, I am definitely attending again and would definitely recommend anyone looking for a fun night out to go! You'll have a killer time lol but yes go have fun be a detective for a night! You won't regret! read more

The Murder Mystery - You can buy cute pics for 20 bucks framed - Performing Arts Near Me - Riverside, California

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Went to the 70's show a few months ago & had a good old time. Started with margaritas, chips, & salsa from the bar next door, so I was feeling good by the time the show began. Like most murder mystery shows, the food was so-so, but the characters were a hoot! This is the most audience interactive murder mystery show I've ever attended. The audience was given props and assigned to portray various characters in the show. I was playing supermodel Trish Hughes (thus the $, zebra print glasses, & faux feather boa scarf). LOL We were also given money to try and bribe other characters into selling/telling us tips about themselves in order to help us solve the crime. Because of the audience participation & silly actors, this was 1 of the funniest murder mystery shows I've been to. Yes, it's kind of corny (70's outfits & all), but isn't that what a murder mystery dinner show is all about? :-D read more

The Murder Mystery - Audience & Cast Members - Performing Arts Near Me - Riverside, California

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Had an event schedule tonight (virtual) - party arranged with 11 people and they just never showed up - after sending us a Zoom and prep materials - so everyone was in costume etc. read more

AWFUL. I went here for a Murder Mystery Dinner and was left VERY unsatisfied. First off, the Groupon promised a three course meal with salad with choice of dressing, a choice of three different pasta dishes (meat lasagna, chicken penne Alfredo and cheese ravioli with marinara sauce), and tiramisu for dessert. Dinner was served family style, even though you're sitting at a table with complete strangers. The portions weren't even big enough to feed everyone, especially if someone happened to take a little more food. The salad was already on the table when we got there, mixed with way too much dressing (remember the "choice of dressing"?). They later brought out garlic knots, which were probably the most enjoyable part of the meal (though still mediocre). Then, the main course: a small cheese ravioli platter was brought out, then a bowtie pasta with watered down Alfredo sauce, and lastly, rotini with a spicy red sauce. --Not exactly what was described in the Groupon. The best part was when dessert was brought out: a teeny 2" piece of tiramisu. Really?! I actually laughed when I saw the dessert. People at my table made plans to eat dinner after the show, as they were still hungry. I went up to the counter to ask for a glass of water, and the waiter told me that they only offered bottled water for $3. Wow. I guess if anything, the restaurant saved money by not serving meat and serving small dishes family style. Good for the business' profit margin, not so good for the paying customer. The Murder Mystery show was okay, though the acoustics and set up of the restaurant made for a poor show. I couldn't see or hear what was going on at all, and my awe in how bad the food was eclipsed any interest in the show. The tacky fluorescent lights didn't help, either. Maybe (and I mean maybe) this place is better apart from the murder mystery dinner, but by principle, I feel swindled having paid $29 for what was promised. It wasn't a deal at all. read more

My comments pertain to the murder mystery dinner theater that my girlfriend and I attended on the evening of July 7, 2011. I've been a consumer for about 40 years and, with the exception of a few situations where people have actually tried to swindle me, this was the worst value for my money that I've had. Ever. And I've lived in three countries, including 14 places here in the USA. We arrived a bit late due to LA traffic and were seated in uncomfortable chairs at tables covered with paper table cloths. The room is an acoustic nightmare - flat, hard surface with the only sound absorbing material being cheap, flimsy drapes covering the walls on the west and north sides of the restaurant. It was a pleasure meeting the folks with whom I would be sharing the evening and, as well, with whom I would be sharing plates of food. "family style" was not mentioned on the web site. There's an allusion to "gourmet food" on the site, in fact, but I never saw anything that could pass for that. The salad was decent if one can call romaine lettuce with a smattering of tomatoes "salad". There was very little dressing in our so they either ran out of dressing or, gasp, have paid attention to feedback. After salad, food arrived which I thought would be our starters and I passed on two of three dishes, eating only the pasta and tomatoes. My thinking was that rather than eat the chicken in alfredo sauce or have any of the cheese ravioli, I would wait until the main courses arrived. "The best laid plans of sometimes go astray" and that certainly happened to me. The "starters" were actually the main course! Now, I'm not a big eater. In fact, I'm both on a restricted calorie diet (800-1000 cals/day) but I'm also training for a half-marathon in August so I'm very careful with what I eat and very careful with how much I eat. The dinner theater made it really simple for me. Even though I had taken only two spoonsfull of one of the three dishes, there wasn't enough food to serve everyone at the table! OK, the food was all carbs and there was very little of it but if we had been watching Sir Lawrence Olivier in his prime, that would make up for it. The physical layout of the "theater" was so...wretched it was impossible to get involved in the "play". This not a "play" in a "dinner theater". As best I could figure out, a bunch of enthusiastic amateur actors made a deal with the restaurant so they're "renting out" the restaurant, which is doing the catering, and the actors are divvying up the profit. If that's the case, I applaud the actors for their business acumen but their venue is atrocious. The vast expanses of sound reflecting surfaces guarantee that the acoustics are so bad that you cannot possibly hold a conversation with anyone who is not sitting to your immediate left or right. We had two "villains" at our table. One of them was three seats to my left, the other was directly across the table from me. The sound level in the room was so high that, when they were asked to read clues about their part from the notebook which they had been given, it was impossible to hear them. My girlfriend and I left after about 30 minutes. The food was poor quality, according to Debbie, and, even though I was hungry, I had zero interest in forcing management to get more food for me. Why? Because I would have had to have compelled to eat it inside the restaurant and that would have made it very unpleasant. The best part of the evening? We walked out of the restaurant (remember, this is NOT a theater) and stood on the walkway that runs around the building. With the noise of the restaurant muffled, Debbie and I spent a few minutes watching the sun set. The sun set was beautiful and the quite was such a striking contrast to the roar of the throng inside the restaurant. Debbie called Groupon the next morning and they refunded the cost of the Groupons ($29 per person). I strongly urge you to stay away from this "dinner theater". I've been to dinner theaters in other cities an insult to the genre. read more

Oh Mama Mia indeed! Came here for the Murder Mystery Dinner purchased from Groupon. The whole experience, well, for a lack of better words...SUCKED! The one star is of the actors who never broke out of character. We arrived at the "restaurant" which is located in a cheesy strip mall in the Fashion District of DTLA. There is street parking, but I wouldnt feel safe parking my car on the street in this area. Garaged parking is $3. We got into the restaurant and were immediately greeted by the actors. We were seated at our table (fully equipped with plastic party rental chairs and plastic table covers) and given a soggy salad with wayyy too much salad dressing. I couldn't take but a few bites before it just got too gross. Next, a waitress came by to take our drink orders (as the groupon said, drinks were not included). I asked for a cocktail and some tap water. The waitress said "we dont have tap water here". WTF! No tap water, what do you wash your dishes with? What do you wash your hands with? Bottles of evian! Well, lets just say I paid $3 for a bottle of arrowhead! Next, we got our main course. Served family style with 3 different pastas. It tasted like a Stouffers microwave dinner. They promised a chicken alfredo pasta...well our bowl of pasta had NO chicken! Lastly the tiramisu cake was a one inch by one inch costco style cake (too sugary)! The actors did their best to incorporate the crowd and tell a good story, however the cheap microphones and bad building acoustics made for a very hazy fuzzy unclear show. Boo! Well, the night got worse. My friend had decided to close out her tab and pay for her drinks earlier in the night (as to avoid the late rush of everyone paying). She paid in cash and took all the change so that we could all put our tip in at the end of the show. We then stepped away from the table to use the restroom and have a cig outside and were greeted by the "owner" of Ohmamamia outside. He basically said "my waiter tells me that your bill is still on your table"...We looked at him and said "um. okay". He then reiterated "I'm the owner of this place and your bill is still at your table"...Our response, "Yeah?" ... He then walked away and sent his waiter out who stated "that was the owner, we know your bill is still at the table"...WTF! If anyone actually paid attention, my friend paid her bill in CasH and took the change! How dare you simply accuse a customer of trying to walk out on the bill. You couldnt ask politely or nicely, but treated us as common thieves who were going to run out on the bill. Hey Ohmamamia...F*ck you for treating your customers with such a lack of respect! I know I spent $29 on a groupon, yet i still feel 100% ripped off. I feel cheated and insulted. Bad business practices and common courtesy all around! And finally, as we walked back to our car...the parking lot was pitch black. It was very scary as two ladies who walked back to the car alone. Any crazy person could have jumped out of the shadows. Good thing I carry my mace! Bad on all levels! Save your money! Dont Go! read more

Wow, I can't believe how complain-y all the the reviews on here are. The BF and I came here with a Groupon and had a really great time! It's located in the middle of the fashion district so it's a little hard to find, but just go into the parking structure and there's signs in there. The restaurant itself is cute and well-maintained. I loved the outfits on the actors and how they are already in character just seating you. You're sat at tables of 10 and share all the food family-style. The reason I knock off a star here is because drinks are expensive ($10 for a mixed drink, $6 for a beer). Also, as every review has pointed out, the pasta portions are small. Mind you, the garlic knots, salad, and 3 pasta dishes are AMAZING, and the tiramisu was fabulous as well, the pasta portions are a bit small, so if you happen to have larger people at your table, grab the pasta dish first or you'll be screwed when you're the last person to serve yourself. Luckily, the guests at our table were all pretty thin so we shared everything evenly. No, you won't be stuffed after leaving here, but you also won't feel sick of carbs, so that's fine. The show itself is very entertaining, especially how they include 2 guests from your table in the show by giving them props and personas to work with. People who knocked off stars here because the people at their table weren't the best actors or weren't totally into it - ummm NOT the restaurant's fault. If I played a character I would be hella awkward too, and probably want to be left alone to eat my damn good pasta. In conclusion, I had a lot of fun at my first murder mystery dinner. Arrive early so you get a good seat near the middle. And don't come starving, but come hungry. Thanks Groupon! read more

The Date: June 11 -- 8:30 showing The Service/Venue: The venue was poorly selected -- complete with tacky fluorescent lighting, poor set-up, and a cheap sound system. Fashion District after the sun has set -- scary. The service was absolutely horrific-- more on the service/venue: http://www.yelp.com/biz/oh-mama-mia-los-angeles The Food: To say 'the food was terrible' is an understatement -- in fact, that would be a compliment. Soggy, over-dressed salad, chicken-less chicken alfredo, tomatoes with pasta, pasta with pink sauce ... more on the food here: http://www.yelp.com/biz/oh-mama-mia-los-angeles The Drinks: Ridiculously OVERPRICED! The Show: The feedback from the microphones were slightly more than annoying. The improv, well - it needs a little work -- Ok... it needs a lot of work. I might have been swayed to be more interested if you had better food and a better sound system. I might have been able to hear and understand what was going on and it might have encouraged me to pay more attention... but since I couldn't filter out the feedback noise, combined that with some inaudible characters... I decided it would be more fun to just tune everyone out and wait for the food -- which turned out to be a huge disappointment. If you are going to involve your guests -- make sure they know what they're getting themselves into. My friend was unfortunately selected to be 'a part of the show' and she had no clue what was going on! If it is your intention to make your improv show 'interactive' -- you failed -- miserably. Instead, you managed to portray a disorganized and poorly planned dinner show. Not to mention inconveniencing some of your guest actors/actresses. They paid to ENJOY a dinner show -- not WORK a dinner show. Where's the incentive? The fake $20 monopoly money shoved in the pocket of the binder? I'm sure it was all planned with great intentions; it was poorly executed. The Experience: I left before the show was over to grab real food and real drinks. I would like to mention that I did not feel SAFE returning to my car -- please explain to me why the 3rd floor parking had ZERO lights on? It was like a scene from a horror movie! I hope you have good liability insurance because in that neighborhood - bad things could have happened! I guess if I had left when the show was over -- I might have been privileged with some lights in the parking structure! The Price: One word: "RIPOFF" -- Seriously? That kind of money for that kind of food, service and show? You all should be ashamed if you think was worth it! *** Dear Murder Mystery Company, The night was a huge disappointment -- there is no way to sugar coat that. The show definitely could have used more work...but you've selected such a poor venue that I seriously don't know if YOU are to be blamed, or the restaurant. Being able to hear and understand what was going on was so critical -- and with the poor set-up... it just appeared to be chaos. You definitely need to work on the Improv and get more organized in regards to involving your guests. The final verdict and suggestion(s): Get a better venue -- preferably one with better food, better staff, better service, better parking, & better set-up. Improv-- only if you can execute it well. *** read more

What a RIP-OFF & Kid you not a WASTE of TIME!!! Food was OFFENSIVE, chicken had a Cardboard Taste to it, a joke of a performance a 3rd grade performance!! If you want to know what the chicken taste like Pick up YOUR SHOE & start eating the SOLE but only AFTER you have walked 1000 miles through fertilizer & then over some wet dogs. They will Blind side you with EXTRA FEES & CHARGES that are completely BOGUS!! I rather have some Cheetos & watch PAINT DRY while a woodpecker pecks a hole on the side of my head. read more

This is a rating for the Murder Mystery Company event at the "Old Spaghetti Factory located in Riverside CA." on Saturday, October 4, 2014. As much as I write reviews here on Yelp! I find it difficult at times to rate an establishment anything below a 3-star, unless I must. THE PROS: - The concept and story-line were excellent. - The actual actors did an excellent job in portraying their roles and managed to pull me and my husband into the action. - Having some patrons portray the roles of some of the characters was also a very good and unique touch. - The rules were provided via a laminated menu. - The "tools" to help solve the mystery were also provided (play $$, sheets, pens) - Our host "Bobbie" was very friendly and answered our questions throughout the evening. THE CONS: - There was no advance notice for the opportunity to come "dressed for the occasion" if this would have been provided, I'm certain many of us would have done so. (Our table was not aware and were there for the 1st time just as we were) - The seating was too crowded and left little room to move around without bumping into others, especially the staff. - Because of the short amount staff, we were unable to obtain water or bread before our meals. - Because of the large table and the excessive amount of patrons within said table, we had to break into 2 teams (the left end / the right end). - The food was EXTREMELY bland an unappetizing. We've eaten at the Spaghetti Factory before so we knew what to expect.. yet the food did not meet our needs in both taste or appearance. - By the time our food was served, we were given a time limit and asked to get out of our seats and begin "questioning" our would be suspects. By the time I returned to my table, my food was cold. I only ate the sausage and left the spaghetti. Recommendations: - Smaller tables or round tables which will require a smaller amount of people per table. This would stimulate guests to talk to one another directly as a team instead of trying to talk across long tables. - Select the actors (patrons) who will portray a certain role ahead of time by emailing them in advance or call them in an effort to remind them of their duties before arriving or allow ample time to find a replacement if patron refuses the role. (This would prevent putting people on the spot, as was the case of the young man in our party). - By eliminating the amount of tables, patrons and staff will be able to move around more freely without interrupting or getting in the way of the staff. - Provide a center piece with a table "team name", this would prevent rogue teams to be created and thus waste less paper. - Provide pre-filled sheets with the characters names. During the performance we were unable to understand or hear the characters' names. - Once seated, it would be beneficial to have the host review the general game ground rules, so to prevent rouge questions to be asked. (As most people hate to reading the ground rules apparently) - Provide more speakers so that all patrons can hear what is going on. - Individual microphones for each cast member to ensure they are heard when speaking, and microphones for the guest actors if need be. - In regards to service: it would be best in my opinion, if each table had their own wait staff who we can make requests rather than wait or call a random staff member who will forget about us. - In regards to food: Ensure that the food is served on a timely manner or at least provide ample time for guests/patrons to have a few bites to eat before moving to interrogate suspects.. or serve after the time to interrogate has expired. There's nothing more unappetizing than a cold meal. Overall, the experience was enjoyable albeit unorganized and crowded. Unsure at this time if we will consider returning again for another performance. read more

I was really hoping my first murder mystery dinner would be like a Saved by the Bell Episode. :) Unfortunately, this dinner didn't include an awesome mansion or a cross dressing detective. :P My $29 groupon brought me a three course meal at Oh Mamma Mia and a 2 hour murder mystery show. Currently, they have a contract to perform at Oh Mamma Mia. It might be just for the groupon shows. Oh Mamma Mia is a bit hard to find. It's on the second floor of a strip mall building. So look up! Parking is in the garage on the side of the building and is $3. The building is situated in the fashion district so the streets were really empty on a Saturday night. Once you check in, they seat you at a table with random strangers. Also, one side of the restaurant is just glass windows, so it's a bit annoying when when the sun is shining in right before it sets. I would say it kind of cheapens the "murder" atmosphere. The food was ok. The salad was fresh and the garlic bread was really yummy. The pasta was served buffet style, and there were four different types, ranging from ravioli to a dish with chicken and fettuccine sauce. Nothing too great. Dessert was tiramisu. It was yummy but small. For drinks, they serve wine and I think beer. If you want water, it's $3 for a bottle. My opinion on the show is that they just need to improve on execution. I agree with the other reviewer that at times it lacked structure, and those that were picked to be characters needed better direction. Our table had clues that had nothing to do with ultimately solving the mystery. Which left us confused. Also clues need to be integrated better rather then being thrown in randomly, which doesn't make the mystery cohesive. I think the actors were pretty good though and funny. Ultimately, I think it's what you make of the experience. If you want to get up, mingle and solve the mystery, you can really make it a more fun experience. You need to really get up and participate during the investigations! Also, my seat was really good. I could see everything that was happening. Sitting far away from where the actors mainly perform and interrogate can dampen the experience, especially since you may not hear and see everything. We talked to one of the actors after the show was over and he said that there are ten different murder mystery theme scenarios that they switch around. Apparently there is a xmas theme one with a drunken Santa! Oh and the the coolest part of the whole thing is my date ended up being the killer! =D read more

I went to one of this company's events in Hollywood, at the Next Door Lounge. We had bought a groupon. First off, they tell you as you walk in the door that, oh, by the way, there's an extra $9 per person fee that we never told you about when you purchased your tickets. Next, you come to realize that this is not so much a show as it is a cheap party game with no script and several terribly costumed and disorganized actors running around. They assign members of the audience to play the parts of suspects, and then everyone in the room is supposed to go around questioning each other and collaborate with their table (of 8-10 people) to solve the mystery. I had several problems with this. 1.) That is not what I was expecting. Both the groupon description and the company's website did not prepare me for what the event actually turned out to be. 2.)For the price they wanted to charge ($60 per person, plus the $9 bogus rip-off fee), the actors should have been better organized (and better costumed!). It felt like the audience was doing all the work. It's a fun idea, but I shouldn't have to pay that much to essentially entertain myself! 3.) Asking a table of 10 strangers to collaborate together to solve a mystery in a noisy and dark bar does not work. It's logistically stupid. You can't work as team, because you can't see or hear the folks on the other end of the table! In the end, though we enjoyed the cocktails and atmosphere at the venue, we left before dinner was even served. It was that not fun. Save your money, stay away. read more

If there was a zero star this place would definitely get one. I went about a month ago after taking advantage of a Groupon. Thus far, this is the only Groupon deal that was not as described. If you are looking for a murder mystery even close to the movie Clue, then look elsewhere. They set up the dinning area in a hall area at a mexican restaurant and decorate it with 99 cent store props. They don't even take down the mexican restaurants decorations, which results in a mexican high school or quinceanera setting. And they serve you some of the worst cafeteria tasting mexican food ever. The actors are good but they have a HORRIBLE budget to work with. read more

Um. . . Stupid! God, what a waste of time, I totally feel embarassed after bringing my date to this show. It was so disorganized, poor comedy, lame organization, shitty food (except for the chocolate cake at the end), and overall just LAME! I'm glad I got this through my groupon or bloomspot or whatever. Total waste of movie, no wonder they're promoting through coupon sites. The more I think about it, the less I like it. I walked out because I couldn't care less. I was actually watching the movie that was playing on the wall instead of paying attention to the Murder Mystery. The theme was 20s, and for some reason, that meant all the actors were talking in New York accents. Start off with a salad that's just spinach with no dressing, have about three small chicken skewers with hummus and you'll leave hungry. THIS WAS SOOOOO DUMB! read more

In a word: Terrible. We went last night. It was terrible. This is probably the worst thing that I've ever spent money to experience. The organization is terrible. The location is terrible for what they're trying to do -- the room at the Old Spaghetti Factory was too crowded and too full of echoing noises. The acting by the paid actors was terrible. Drafting the audience members to be the participants (no choice given to decline that I was aware of) was terrible -- aren't we paying money to be entertained? Now we're the actors too? Expecting complete strangers to work together as a team was terrible, especially given the poor job they did on the actual mystery. I'm a game designer, and from a game design standpoint, the "game" here was terrible. Food was okay but the selections were too limited and confusing. Unlike dining at the Old Spaghetti Factory normally, we didn't get bread and didn't even get a choice of dressing on our salad. No idea if they gave spumoni ice cream or not -- see below. My girlfriend and I went their to celebrate our 2 year anniversary, because we saw it on Groupon. Unfortunately it was not at all pleasant and so badly run that we wished we'd saved our money and just stayed home. If we'd been smarter and read the reviews here on Yelp, we would have. We left after the main course, which was hard to get to because we were expected to get up and wander around to other tables to interrogate them, while they did the same with us. The last straw was the "inspector" character unexpectedly firing off a capgun behind us while we were trying to eat our dinner; we decided we'd had enough so we tipped the waiter and left before the mystery got solved and before dessert. Don't go to this. Don't do it. Buy one of those mystery-in-a-box games and invite some friends over. Plat a good board game. Watch a movie or those shows filling up your DVR that you never manage to get to. Just don't go to this. read more

I was absolutely appalled by the deception of the company. I purchased tickets through Groupon. When I went to redeem my tickets I was informed I could only get the vegetarian option. No where on the Groupon is this stated. Then to complicate matters when I spoke with the supervisor I was told simply there is nothing we can do. I found this lack of customer service to be profoundly lacking as what is the difficulty in changing 4 meals to accommodate a 300$ price tag. I would advise that no one deal with this particular subsidiary of the murder mystery company. I can clearly say this subsidiary does not do the brand Justice and as individual who works with many corporations I would look into this subsidiary very closely. read more

Waste of your time, money, and night out; really really bad entertainment. Someone wrote a review on here asking what were people expecting; don't think people expect to pay for a terrible night out, that is one thing I am sure of. No one should be expected to have their work seem like a reprieve next to something like this; it's a valid expectation that everyone has actually. I think of times that this place would be worthwhile and cannot come up with even one example. If I were stranded at an airport with an overnight delay or even a deserted island, I still wouldn't want this. It's demeaning, and so raunchy with incredibly biased and discriminatory comments that it was nothing short of offensive. When all these people on here give this such low ratings, believe them and do not buy that groupon....there's a reason it keeps showing up on that! The food is edible and won't make you sick or anything, but nothing more; not fine dining by any means. If you come dressed up, you have a better chance for being picked to become a character. There is no rhyme of reason with a method to the actors madness; such poor poor actors that clearly wouldn't make it into groundlings or likey be considered for talent agent picks. The idea of dining while have an interactive mystery to sort out is a good one; just not THIS one. Save your money and look elsewhere or you'll end up writing a dreaded review like the rest of us poor souls! read more

I had a groupon for the Murder Mystery, and yes, had read some of the reviews for both. I had low expectations going into this, and even with those expectations, I was trying. Er, WRONG. Even I couldn't think it could suck so bad. IT SUCKED! go get your refund! Food: Garlic Knots: bread w/ garlic. simple. it was ok. Actually best part of the meal. I guess it's something that the kitchen didn't have to prepare Salad: No choice of dressing. It was your garden variety, lettuce, tomatoes, olives, onions, bell peppers with cheese and Italian dressing. Pasta: Family style, with what would feed about a family of 4, to be shared between 10 people, whom you may or may not know. No lasagna, a overly cooked rotini with tomato sauce (blech, took one bite and that's it), Cheese ravioli (one per person). gross. And Fettuccine Alfredo soup/ yes you read right, soup. with less than 3 oz of chicken in the bowl, plus some pasta.. swimming in a soupy sauce. gross. Dessert: tiramisu. another ok part of the meal. it was a 2 x 2 square tho. Drinks: let's start by them not having tap water... so my friend asked if she could have a cup with ice, then go to the bathroom to fill out in tap, cuz apparently they don't have any tap water. $3 for bottle of arrowhead 16oz (bring your own, btw), canned soda. $6 for beers $7 for wine - that was not "chardonnay" fyi,.... i've had warm beer that taste better. and whatever they were charging for the liquor. Left before the show ended. My view was a pillar. There were way too many people for the show. I couldn't hear nor see the "actors" they were too busy entertaining the people that were sitting in the middle. I couldn't hear. It was way too hot in the restaurant.... need I say more. I emailed groupon for a refund. THIS PLACE/Company was AWFUL!!!!! OH did I mention the plastic chairs? UNCOMFY. Oh mama mia read more

Came with a group for a social outing, and quite honestly this just wasn't my thing. It was hard hearing the actors over everyone's chatter and I just couldn't get into the game. It may have been that I was hungry and I didn't get my dinner until 2 hours after my arrival, or it could've been that we started pretty late than what was stated on the ticket. I was hoping to leave in 2 hours but we were there for about 4 hours (5:30 to 9:30pm)! We were trying to figure out who the murderer was based on both written clues and hints from the actors. Audience members were chosen to play certain characters and the guests had to question them to get more information to find out who the murder was. At the end of the evening, we went over all of the clues and questioned the suspects. Each table had to write down who they thought the murderer was. There was also an awards ceremony to recognize the best dressed people, best actors, and the teams who correctly identified the murderer. I wouldn't do this again, but if you're into acting and mystery, come and give it a whirl. read more

Eoooowww! That's all you need to know. CORRECTION: NEXT DOOR LOUNGE is not bad, it's the MURDER MYSTERY inside the next door lounge. Food was nasty the spinach salad they served tasted old and withered. Took a long time to get settled, and you are forced to sit with rude customers. Uncomfortable dining seating arrangements (old couches where you have to slouch when eating) We wanted to watch and eat, never did the groupon say that they are going to put you to work. Sorry, unless your name is Scorsese, I'm passing on participating, rules are confusing, spot light was so freaking warm. I paid for a dinner show, i didn't sign up for working the damn show. You need to pay me for that. read more

If you don't mind being the center of attention in a room full of people (about 80-90 approximately) and you are ok with being the subject of humor, then the experience will probably be a lot of fun. I went with my girlfriend on a Sunday and were seated at a table with two other groups of guests. When the show began, I was told by one of the show's actors that I would be playing the role of the groom in a "wedding" murder show. I was game and had a good time. My table seemed to enjoy the experience, although I spent most of my time playing the role I had been assigned. It was fun and we had some good laughs. I recommend the show. The food was good. I enjoyed my pasta dish. read more

The Murder Mystery - Performing Arts Near Me - Riverside, California

This place is really not worth all the money that was spent! So disappointing Once the show started the server came by to let you you haf to pay a $9 service charge per person. My boyfriend had 3 beers and he was charged tip. He ended up spending $39 and i spent $58 on the tickets from groupon. There are so many better things we couldve done with $100 I gotta admit The place is really nice inside. The pasta was good the chicken skewers were amazing. But i would never return for this show again. They seat you with random people. unfortunstely i was chosen to be one of the suspects, Its not a fun place to be at if your shy, it was very uncomfortable for me. I didnt really want to participate and i feel like i ruined the night of the other people we sat with. Moral of the story IT SUCKED By the way i had initially gave it 2stars but the more i thought about how uncomfortable i was i needed to bring it down to 1. read more