Manning excited to bring community theater experience to Corbin

If you love a good “whodunit” story, then you are in luck!

For the first two weeks in August, Kentucky Creative Bistro, located on South Park Center Drive in Corbin, will host a brand new, live-action murder mystery dinner show titled “Murder Within Us.” Director Matt Manning is thrilled to be presenting the show, saying he hopes that it will be the first of many.

“We immediately got bombarded with messages and e-mails after announcing to the community that we were going to be doing this,” said Manning, who studied theater as a member of the Corbin High School Class of 2012, and then for several years as a college student at Eastern Kentucky University.

“The whole process started in late-May, so it has been a very quick development. It is going really well, though.”

Manning and his cast, who are calling themselves the Kentucky Playhouse, will present “Murder Within Us” a total of six times. The first three showings will take place on Thursday through Saturday, Aug. 4-6, and the last three will be Thursday through Saturday of the following week, Aug. 11-13.

Manning said the show will last approximately two-and-a-half hours, and will include three acts. Breaks will be taken in between acts so that food can be served, and the cast will be available during these intermissions to talk to patrons. The show itself will be interactive in nature, with guests receiving forms that they can use to keep track of clues, and ultimately guess who committed the crime, and how.

“The show is based on your typical 80’s horror movie,” Manning explained when asked about the plot. “It’s like Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street or Halloween. You’ll have your traditional slasher villain who is menacing all of these summer campers. Everyone is just going to be trying to figure out who it is, and why they’re doing it. We’ll all be trying to survive to the end of the night.”

The cast of the show is completely comprised of local talent, all of whom Manning says are very excited to be on the stage helping to get the Kentucky Playhouse up and going.

“I am hoping to see this expand,” Manning said of the future. “I really want to bring a sense of community to this community theater. I have eight or nine shows planned right now if this one goes well, and it would be great to eventually grow to the point where we need a larger space, and we can do much bigger productions.”

Manning says that, based on the level of interest he has seen so far, he expects “Murder Within Us” to sell out in the coming days. For that reason, he is urging those interested in attending to not wait until the last minute to purchase tickets. Cost is $45 per person, and tickets are available now at Kentucky Creative. Call (606)280-7740 for additional information.