Mysteriously Yours Mystery Dinner Theatre

Last updated on May 18th, 2021 at 02:49 pm

Never before have I gone to a blogger event and come home with extra toilet paper.

Once Upon a Time….

What started as a simple dinner would eventually turn into an event filled with confession, intrigue and a dash of killer instinct.

Nestled south of the Yonge-Eglinton neighbourhood, the Mysteriously Yours… Mystery Dinner Theatre is a little-known Toronto gem that’s been operating for 25 years, where murder’s laced with motives, and nothing’s ever quite what it seems.

Once Upon a Murder is a murder mystery based around a fairytale wedding, designed to get the crowd involved so that they can solve the mystery—but what happens if they start to become part of it???

The Plot

Justin has a knack for bringing people together. Knowing that you can only get so much from large events and the chaos that comes with them, he opted to bring a quartet of bloggers/business people together to dine, drink and discuss the night away.

When Val proposed that we all join her for a VIP seasonal launch at the Mysteriously Yours… Mystery Dinner Theatre, I was on board for a night of hijinks while having an event to shake things up.

So Justin, Val, Jamie and I found ourselves at Table 18 catching up… and eventually trying to figure out whodunit.

The Plate

Starting us off with glasses of fraîse champagne and plates of shrimp salad on rice crackers and pulled pork bruschetta, the menu by Rossy Earle, Executive Chef was a tasty one!

Even though murder was in the air, the only thing my knife was stabbing was the delicious boneless beef rib I ordered. Say what you will, Mr. Bussey, but I enjoyed my meal here! While I won’t rave about the cheddar jalapeno soup or the key lime tart (both tasty, but nowhere near as delicious as the main), I think the food was a little better than “okay”.

But we weren’t there for the food—the meal would be nothing compared to the mystery!

You Can’t Take Casey Anywhere.

I’m pretty sure that growing up isn’t an option for me. I play like a big kid, crack jokes like it’s my second language and lose my mind if things are too dull, so putting me in arms-reach of an interactive fairytale story without expecting me to dive right in is insane 😊.

As we ate and caught up, the characters would mingle amongst our tables, giving us the lay of the land as they saw it and trying to get the audience as engaged as possible. We had some excellent interactions with Lupo and Little Red Riding Hood—or “Scarlet”, rather—but the one who took the cake for Table 18 was Prince Charmin, who would eventually come to sit with us through the majority of the production! We were getting charmed by Charmin!

Over the course of the mystery, a bromance was formed between myself and Prince Charmin (Ian Ronningen), involving manly hugs, questionable nicknames (such as “Winnie the Poo”, the mascot of his multinational toilet paper corporation) and general back-and-forth ridiculousness. The show was meant to be interactive, but I’m pretty sure that they weren’t ready for me and the brand of madness I bring to the table.

It was fun.

All’s Well That Ends Well… Well, Except for the Queen, Being Dead and All… But You Know….

I won’t spoil the mystery for you, but at least it’s no mystery as to why the night was full of fun! With good food, good company and a healthy heaping of laughs, I’m glad I made it out.

And of course, what would a wedding be without party favours for the guests? Keeping with the theme of a union between Ever After’s royal successor and its largest manufacturer of toilet paper, we went home with a sample of Prince Charmin’s quality product! I hope we weren’t expected to read the media kit and drink our coffee while sampling it!)

Thanks again to Val for inviting us to such a fun night—even if you’ve been before, it’s a different adventure every time you go; there’s no way they could’ve stayed in business for 25 years so far otherwise! If you’re looking to do something different in Toronto or take a date somewhere a little more memorable, give Mysteriously Yours… Mystery Dinner Theatre a try!

Would it kill you to try something different?