The year is 1938. Storm clouds are gathering over Europe as Hitler invades Czechoslovakia. In the United States, people are recovering from the Great Depression. Clark Gable and Vivian Leigh are filming Gone With The Wind.

 

 

 

 

San Francisco is a wide-open town, where cable cars trundle their way up and down the hills overlooking the Bay, hard-boiled detectives swill gin in the local dives, and smugglers unload contraband by starlight at Half-Moon Bay.

 

  



 

Lovers sway to the sounds of the big bands at the Rose Bowl dance hall in Larkspur.

 

International spies hold forbidden rendez-vous in Chinatown. And the Grand Dames of Burlingame society are planning the upcoming social season.

 

You are cordially invited to attend the Astor Fall Cotillion, where secretaries rub shoulders with debutantes, cat burglars survey their prey, and bubble dancers mix with high society nobs.

 

Money talks -- and sometimes it whispers "murder."

 

 

MYSTERY OF THE MALTESE FALCON is a Mystery Dinner Drama set in San Francisco in the year 1938. The dinner is held in costume, with partiipants playing the parts of hard-boiled detectives, movie stars, assassins, socialites, and international spies, each with his or her own secrets and motivations.

It's more like stepping through a time machine than attending a conventional theatre.

You will receive a Playbook with a detailed description of your character's background, goals, and resources. The Playbook also contains information on the Pre-War Era, a summary of historical events of 1938, a dictionary of detective slang, and a list of all the other characters.

During the Orientation, you will get additional props. These may include hand cuffs, stage money, magazines, or a 1938 newspaper.

There are a number of plots unfolding simultaneously, and you may be involved in one or more of these plots. The roles are arranged in order of difficulty, from simple parts which require little experience to major roles which are much more involved.

PALLADIAN Interactive Theatre lets you explore the actor within you.

Who knows ... you might knock 'em dead.