Sweet Creations in Bristow will be hosting a Caribbean themed murder mystery party in cooperation with Maid For Murder on Feb. 16 at 7 p.m. Attendees are encouraged to dress for warm weather and allow themselves to get swept away in the mystery.
Maid For Murder, run by founder Nevien Tadross of Fairfax County, helps to organize murder mystery parties in which guests actively participate as both suspects and sleuths.
“It’s a concept that I think is a lot of fun, and offers a different alternative than going to the movies,” Tadross said.
The idea is guests sign up to attend the party in advance, providing a few details about themselves, such as name, age, gender and maybe occupation. Tadross takes that information and crafts identities for each guest that fit within her scheme for nine separate murder mysteries. She chooses one guest to be the murderer, and gives the others fun identities to assume, most of whom are also suspects.
However, she is not going to make it that easy for guests to play themselves or even appear innocent. More often than not, they get to ham it up with playing larger than life characters such as mayors, lawyers, film directors or movie stars.
“Once it gets started, it gets kind of wild in there,” said Tadross, explaining that the pretend identities encourage people to let loose. “They’re not really a senator or an actress. You can’t be embarrassed, so you might as well go for it.”
Not that she hasn’t played with actual senators. Tadross once organized a Maid For Murder party on Capital Hill in which many of the guests arrived in stretch limos. But rather than Googling her famous guests, Tadross went in blind, making it easier for everyone to get lost in their characters and have some fun.
As for choosing the murderer, she said sometimes the guest she chooses is completely at random, but other times she applies typecasting, especially if someone’s friend or relative drops hints that someone in their party is a real diva.
Tadross, who plays the maid, is the only one in on the act; everyone else is just a guest attending the party, which makes it different than mystery theater or dinner theater. She doesn’t bring in professional actors, and there is no detective charged to solve the mystery.
And none of the mysteries solve themselves. Like any good murder mystery, Maid for Murder promises twists and turns along the way. In fact, she said her mysteries follow the classic Agatha Christie formula. At the beginning of the evening, many characters are introduced. As the plot progresses, guests learn more about each other and begin to formulate theories about who committed the crime.
And like a murder mystery in a novel, the murderer will usually strike again.
“I, myself, do not know what will happen. Anybody can get killed,” Tadross said.
The game incorporates red herrings, and guests are encouraged to not reveal all their secrets and even lie to others if they feel so inclined. As the maid, Tadross will sometimes drop clues intended to get people back on track, all without breaking character, saying the staff often knows things visitors do not.
The socializing/sleuthing lasts about one hour. In the next half hour, the guests try to try to solve the mystery, and ultimately the murderer will reveal him or herself.
This Sweet Creations Maid For Murder party starts at 7 p.m. on Feb 16. Guests will need to register by Feb. 10 at Sweet Creations to reserve their part, or before all seats are sold-out. The price to participate is $20 per person and includes a frozen yogurt cup with toppings and one hot drink.
Owner and operator, Debbie Bankert said she wanted to have a Caribbean theme, so guests who cannot get away to someplace warm this winter could at least pretend. She encourages people to wear their summer or cruise wear and be ready to play a character for the night. This particular party will be PG, so there will be no adult themes and no alcohol will be served. Children 8-years of age and older are invited to participate as well. The party will last until 8:30 p.m.
To reserve a part, call 571-379-7232, or visit Sweet Creations Frozen Yogurt at 10286 Bristow Center Drive, the Harris Teeter shopping center. Sweet Creations serves coffee, hot chocolate and cupcakes during the winter months, as well as frozen yogurt and fro-yo smoothies.
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