Broadway RFD presents Dead to the Last Drop
For Christina Bartlett, director of this year’s Broadway RFD dinner theatre Dead to the Last Drop, an interactive dinner theatre was a new challenge. “I’ve worked in theatre for years, but never with this level of interaction between the actors and the audience,” Bartlett said.
Dan Metcalfe, who plays Tully in the production, agrees. “It takes a lot of focus throughout the production to stay in character while having real conversations with audience members,” he said.
Dead to the Last Drop, written by Ken Jones, is an interactive murder mystery set in a coffee shop called Café Caffeine. As the audience is led through the twists and turns of the mystery by an eccentric cast of characters, they will have to pay close attention to the clues. Unlike many plays, the audience will vote on the outcome of the case at the end.
“I think this is a really different type of theatre experience. The audience is more involved, so I think that helps makes the play even more compelling. The audience has a buy-in to how everything turns out,” Bartlett said. As the audience is considering the clues, they will enjoy a catered dinner and coffee to help set the coffee shop scene.
Dead to the Last Drop is sponsored by The Blacksmith Coffee Roastery, who will be providing coffee during dinner as well as several prize baskets for a drawing that will be held during the course of the evening. “We roast and package ultra-premium coffee right here in Lindsborg, so the coffee connection perfectly fits with the play,” said Mark Galloway, owner of The Blacksmith Coffee Roastery.
Dead to the Last Drop will be presented February 17 and 18 at 6:30 p.m. at the Bethany Lutheran Church Fellowship Hall. Tickets are $30, which include dinner and the show, and may be purchased in advance. To reserve tickets, contact the Broadway RFD board by calling (316) 650-8658 or by emailing at info@broadway.org.