Dinner and murder will be served up next month in the school’s first drama performance of the year.

Cal High’s Theatre 2/3 class will be producing an interactive murder mystery dinner theater called “Menu Mayhem” on Nov. 1 at 6:30 p.m. at the San Ramon Community Center.

Like previous interactive performances, actors will stage a murder and the mystery killer will not be revealed until the very end of the show.

The scene is set in a cooking show in the midst of contract negotiations with a chicken company. During the taping of a special episode, the main host of the show mysteriously ends up dead.

All 41 students in the Theatre 2/3 class will participate in the performance. Nine students will be acting in the play in a major role and 14 students will be taking on minor roles.

This is the debut performance for many students, and for others it’s the first time performing with this class.

“I’m excited to work with my class for the first time and perform in front of a crowd,” said junior Amra Tilahun.

The rest of the students will serve as  techies, who perform jobs ranging from stage manager and sound engineers to costumes and props.

The actors will be in character throughout the whole performance, even during the breaks.  The audience will be able to talk to cast members during the performance.

Theatre teacher Laura Woods believes this show is appealing to everyone.

“Getting to actively participate in the show as well as trying to guess ‘who done it’ is the biggest highlight [of the show],” said Woods.

Although the show is a murder mystery, it also includes a lot of humor.  There will be a lot of puns and jokes incorporated into the performance.

The play was created to include improvisation, which is a big factor in what makes the performance funny, enjoyable, and unique.

Tickets are sold at the Drama Club’s website  at chsdrama.org.  They cost $20 for students, $35 for adults, and $50 for VIPs.  VIPs get many benefits, such as sitting in the front of the room and getting a special dessert.

The dinner is catered by The Counter, a burger joint from Walnut Creek.

There will also be a silent auction during the performance.  So far there are items such as gift cards, Raiders gear, and wine for the adults.

All proceeds go to support the drama department.

Cal performs this type of interactive play annually. Some students enrolled in the Theatre 2/3 class again to participate in this particular show.

“I had a lot of fun performing in last year’s production and I’m also in this year’s production,” said senior Kiana Triana.