November 12, 2015 - THEY are Featured in the Journal Gazette in "The Phoenix mixes it up with murder mystery"
THEY improv was featured in the Journal Gazette
November 12, 2015: The Phoenix mixes it up with murder mystery
by Keiara Carr
If you go
What: Murder Mystery Dinner Theater
When: 7 p.m. today
Where: The Phoenix, 1122 Broadway
Admission: $60 per guest, includes dinner; cash bar; must reserve by noon today; call 387-6571.
The changes happening at The Phoenix on Broadway have taken some getting used to, event coordinator Sarah McLeod says.
In August, the restaurant transitioned into a special events and catering facility, opening its doors less frequently for scheduled performances.
"I think that people are always a little resistant to change. So I think people have been a little confused by it, but once they see the wide variety of events that we are offering to the area, people are going to be more open to it," she says.
The response to The Phoenix's upcoming murder mystery dinner theater today has McLeod hopeful that the community is catching on. The 1920s-themed dinner theater will feature four actors from the national improv group, They Improv, immersing audiences in an interactive mystery performance.
The night kicks off with cocktails at 7 p.m. followed by dinner prepared by local chef Mike Bentz.
Guests are encouraged to get into the spirit of things by dressing in '20s attire.
"Our owner Matt (McCoy) has been trying to focus more on being a place that does a dinner and a show," McLeod says. "It's something that he has always been interested in doing, and it's something not offered in Fort Wayne. So it's unique."
The Arena Dinner Theater does offer dinner and theater shows in Fort Wayne, but Todd Rice, founder of They Improv, says the murder mystery show isn't necessarily traditional theater.
Rice, based in Florida, says They Improv has performed in all 50 states and has worked with over half of the Fortune 500 companies.
"It's not 1920s Chicago. It's 1920s Fort Wayne, but we'll make it where Fort Wayne is Chicago. It's the North Side mob, South Side mob, all that kind of stuff," Rice says.
"They're all coming together in one room. You don't want that. That can cause some problems. We'll even divide up the room between the North Side and the South Side, and we'll have the mob among the patrons."
The show's script is customized for each venue. Rice says the improvisational actors are trained to adapt to changes quickly.
"Our actors have the ability to change the murder during the course of the evening if someone says something in the audience that made the real answer impossible," Rice says. "They don't see us scramble, but they are amazed. They're thinking "How did they know that this was going to happen?"
Rice says the group's murder mysteries are popular for corporate events, but for public shows, it's much more difficult.
"It's just a rare item, and it's really good testament to The Phoenix that they are putting forth the effort to do this for the community. To provide them with this sort of entertainment with, really, limited reward," he says.
"I think it has a lot to do with the competition being TV. It's just very easy for people to go home and sit in front of a TV and not speak to a human being. - A murder mystery is where everybody kind of bonds with one another, they laugh together, and it's a communal activity. People forget how enjoyable that is."
McLeod is optimistic.
After the murder mystery, The Phoenix will host Fort Wayne Funk Orchestra on Saturday and a Sunday brunch buffet. Also this month, The Phoenix will be a stop on the Holly Trolley.
"I think that The Phoenix is a really great location, and I think we can offer a variety of events in that particular area (due to) all the recent developments downtown," she says. "With the (murder mystery), people are really excited about. I've had a lot of calls."
