PITTSTON — The Pittston Memorial Library is the place to go for mystery books, but it will soon be a place for a mystery theater.
The library will host a 1920s murder mystery dinner Saturday, Oct. 8 called “Crime and Pun-ishment.”
Library events coordinator Noelle Kozak said she always wanted to a 1920s gangster-style performance because she felt it fits with the history of Pittston.
“I always wanted to do one of these things, but I never saw one in the local area and thought we’d give it a try and see what happens,” she said. “‘Crime and Pun-ishment’ was very Pittston punny, given all the mafia history and all that comes with the history of Pittston.”
The event will be held at 6 p.m. in the John P. Cosgrove Center and features improv actors from The Murder Mystery Company.
According to information provided from its website, The Murder Mystery Company is a nationwide organization performing murder mystery shows in 18 states.
Kozak said the improv group will mingle with dinner guests and ensures no one will know who is involved in the show.
“Once (the actors) get here there is also a possibility that the dinner guests will be part of the show as well,” she added. “They could be suspects, potentially. The audience will be eating dinner and just enjoying themselves, generally, and the show will be working around meals. It’s going to be up to the audience to solve the murder.”
The event is 1920s-themed complete with costumes and Kozak encourages people to dress in pinstripe suits, tassled skirts, flapper dresses, or high-waist jackets and wear accessories such as fedoras, elbow-length gloves or anything from that decade.
Booking the event wasn’t easy, as Kozak said she made calls to The Murder Mystery Company in the spring to ensure the event would take place in October.
“They’re a pretty popular group and are booked solid for October,” she said. “It’s their busy season, obviously, because people want to do costume party kind of stuff during this time. “
Food will be provided by JustFred Catering with a family-style Italian dinner.
The dinner will include antipasti, grilled vegetables, pasta marinara, grilled tuscan chicken and more.
Cost for the event is $55 per ticket or two tickets for $100 with a portion of proceeds benefiting the library.
The event is for adults ages 21 and over, as alcohol will be served.
Pittston Memorial Library Director Patricia Joyce said she is unsure if the library ever hosted an event like this before, but knows it hasn’t during her six years there.
“I’m really excited,” she said. “I think it’s a cool idea that Noelle had and I’m looking forward to it.”
Kozak said she looks forward to the event because of the surprises in store for everyone in attendance.
“You don’t know what could happen,” she said. “I’m excited to see how people are going to respond.”
