New dinner theatre experience to debut at The Pennington later this month

A new local startup is hoping to bring a fresh experience to area residents looking for good food, original entertainment and maybe a little bit of intrigue.

Tri-County Mystery Meets, a roving theatre company based out of Whitley County, is bringing its very first dinner show to The Pennington later this month. The show, titled “The Reveal,” is an original piece that will chronicle the 30-year reunion of the 1982 West High graduating class.

While fictional, Gary Bryant, one of the theatre’s two operating partners, said that there will be some elements in the play pulled from real life. Bryant, along with his partner, Cathy Goguen, who is a playwright and wrote the script for the show, were part of the 1982 graduating class at Whitley County High School, which is where the pair drew some of the inspiration for their first show.

“There will be a few names of some of our classmates in the show,” said Bryant.

The play is expected to be immersive, making attendees feel like they are actually part of the class reunion as it takes place. There will also be some portions that allow for audience participation.

Bryant didn’t want to give away too many details about what to expect from the story, but did note that the play’s name has a very direct meaning.

“What these people will do at the end is reveal things about themselves that maybe their classmates did not know,” said Bryant.

Attendees will also be provided with a full-course meal with dishes from Eastern Kentucky Catering.

The evening’s dining options kick off with a soup and salad before allowing attendees to choose between a main entrée of prime rib or Tuscan, with green beans, mashed potatoes and rainbow carrots on the side. All of that will be wrapped up with the choice of pecan tarts, ice cream or a piece of cake.

“The food is exceptional,” said Bryant.

The meal will be served at key times throughout the play so as not to interrupt the performance.

Tickets for the first show on July 29 are available on Eventbrite by searching for “Tri-County Mystery Meets” in the search bar. They can also be obtained by scanning the QR code accompanying this story. Tickets are $60 each and include both the show and meal.

Bryant said that the price point is in line with similar dinner shows in the region.

“I know that to some people, $60 may seem kind of steep, but when you figure all the costs involved to bringing this show to life—the venue, the food, insurance, and we’re paying the actors where most other places don’t. We hope to make a little bit of money, but that’s not our main goal,” said Bryant. “We want to make enough to make the business profitable and therefore sustainable, but we’re not out to make a huge profit.”

“There are three things that have to be good: you have to have a good venue, you have to have quality food and have a good performance. Any of those three things let you down and that’s the one thing that the crowd will remember,” said Bryant. “And the idea is that you don’t want people to leave there feeling like they’ve seen a show; you want them to leave there feeling like they’ve had an experience. I think we have that.”

There is a second performance scheduled for Aug. 16, also at The Pennington. Dates are currently being set for performances in Barbourville, Harlan and Williamsburg.

Bryant said that a new theme/play will be introduced each season to keep the performance fresh, noting that those are also expected to be original scripts.

Anyone who is interested in sponsoring the event can contact Bryant at (606) 521-4942 or Goguen at (606) 344-0491. There are several sponsorship levels available that include listings in the program and a number of tickets.