For less money than it takes to fill most gas tanks, you can eat dinner, get your fortune told, help excise some ghosts and participate in a (mock) sacrificial offering to the gods this weekend.

Actually, you can do it all in one evening at The Village Dinner Theatre of Gettysburg.

This weekend, the theater opens "Ghost Hunts are Deadly," a new interactive murder mystery written by Fairfield resident and theater teacher Jason Hoffman.

Those who come will be fed a buffet dinner of three entrées, vegetables, salad and dessert while listening to what is supposed to be a special seminar with a popular paranormal investigator and her young protégé.

But the evening gets disrupted by ghost hunters who have supposedly been summoned to Patriot Point to do a investigation of the place.

"There are some personality clashes, somebody dies, and it's your task to figure out who did it and why," Hoffman said. "It's just a whole lot of fun."

The theater, now in its third season, began as a dinner theater, but ditched the dinner portion during fall growing pains so it could focus on the performances.

Hoffman discovered that although walk-in traffic for the shows increased, the core group of loyal dinner fans weren't coming.

So now the food is back. But instead of being prepared in-house and served by the actors, the meal will be catered by The Avenue restaurant just a few blocks from Patriot Point.

"That will allow the actors to focus on the performance, but the audience still gets dinner," Hoffman said. "It's the best of both worlds."

The loose script of the show allows for some improvisation and lets the actors tame things down or go over the top depending on the audience.

"Different audiences respond differently, and we react accordingly," he said. "The evening just flies when you get an audience that wants to have fun."

IF YOU GO:

What: "Ghost Hunts are Deadly" murder mystery

When: Opens Friday; performances held 7 p.m. Fridays, Saturdays and some Thursdays throughout the summer. See calendar on the Web site for exact dates.

Where: The Village Dinner Theatre of Gettysburg at Patriot Point Village, 241 Steinwehr Ave., Gettysburg

Cost: $20 show only; $40 for dinner and show. Reservations are required for dinner. BYOB.

For details: Visit http://www.gettheatre.org or call (800) 570-4590

Publication:72 Hours;

Date:Nov 9, 2006;

Section:Drama 101;

Page Number:27

‘Grant Us Some Leeway’

Amusing, inter-active dinner theater experience

By EMILY DUFTON Special to the News-Post

    After passing the period-correct saloon, the gift shop selling Gettysburg T-shirts, the Victorian tea room, and another gift shop selling hundreds of Elvis Presley memorabilia items (some of his relatives fought in Pickett’s Charge), you will enter the Patriot Point dinner theater, where the actors are waiters, the waiters are actors, and you may partake in one of the most amusing and entertaining evenings the “most famous small town in America” has to offer.

    “Grant Us Some Leeway” is currently Gettysburg’s only inter-active dinner theatre performance, and it combines one of the most comedic performances in the area with a very delicious meal, complete with several courses. Sure, a potential murderer might be your server, but that’s what makes dinner theater as exciting as it is.

    The show takes place on July 4th, 1863, in a Gettysburg meetinghouse.

    The infamous battle has just ended and several women from the town gather to discuss what has to be done. Two generals, one from the North, one from the South, also descend upon the meetinghouse to negotiate the battle’s terms. In between misconstrued identities, the revelation of several spies among them, and the murder of the too-curious Tilly Pierce, the actors, six in all, serve bread, salad, your choice of entrée, dessert and coffee. For an all-inclusive night of entertainment, this deal is hard to beat.

    Patriot Point, as a building, has served a variety of purposes over the years. Over the past few decades it has served as various incarnations of museums and shops, never settling on one successful project. New owner Chuck Tressler would like to change that, however, and see Patriot Point become a destination spot. “We’re operating on a shoestring budget right now,” says Mr. Tressler, but he remains absolutely committed to seeing his project through.

    The Plum Run Saloon in the front of the building is a charming period restaurant whose slogan is “Where Reenactors Meet.”Light meals are served by women in costumes fitting the room’s Wild West appeal, while poker chips and old cards rest on table tops, and a player piano sits near the side wall. It seems as though the Bob Dylan song “Lily, Rosemary, and the Jack of Hearts” is actually taking place at the next table over, and while the saloon is dry (though a BYOB offer stands), it’s a very interesting place to grab lunch and talk to the saloon belles.

    Patriot Point Souvenirs sells Gettysburg fare such as T-shirts, sweatshirts, and coffee mugs, but the real attraction for those looking for something to bring back home with them is next door. The Kin of Elvis is a small shop with a big objective: to celebrate the life of Elvis Presley and educate visitors about his family’s ties to the Civil War. Posters, mugs, CDs, and lots of other Kingthemed goodies are all available, sold by a relative of the Presley family. Additionally, Patriot Point is showcasing two Elvis-themed shows: “Elvis Is In the House,” which debuted Oct. 28 and 29; and ”The Elvis Christmas Show,” which will show on Dec. 9 and 10.

    “Grant Us Some Leeway,” however, is the highlight of all that Patriot Point offers. The show, directed by Frederick theatre veteran Jason Hoffman and co-written by Hoffman and Caitlyn Joy, pairs good performances with an interesting plotline, in addition to offering an entire meal. Some theatre goers often recoil at the idea of dinner theatre, which had its heyday in the ’70s and has never reclaimed its former fame, but this performance is different. The actors don’t take themselves too seriously and keep the audience participation level high. Jokes are bawdy enough to give it a PG-13 rating, but children will enjoy the over-the-top comedic scenes (and probably won’t understand the humor). And the surprising ending will definitely make you laugh.

    Entrée choices consist of crab cakes, chicken marsala, and vegetarian lasagna. As part of the meal, everyone gets rolls, a small Caesar salad, entrée with rice and vegetable, dessert, and coffee. Water and iced tea are also available. The theatre, like the saloon, is BYOB. The Northern general in particular was quick and witty with jokes referring to a table’s choice in wine, keeping the performance light, humorous, and extemporaneous as well.

    If you’ve been to Gettysburg before and feel as though the town has nothing new to offer you, Patriot Point and its talented crew of performers may very well change your mind. A slew of shows is planned to open at the theatre, though “Grant Us Some Leeway” will continue to have performances through November.

    “Jacob Marley’s Christmas Carol” will show throughout the holiday season and into early January, followed by “Don’t Be Cruel,” a murder mystery that seeks to solve the greatest enigma of them all: who killed Elvis. Constantly offering new shows (in addition to a Victorian tea room which is slated to open in early November), Patriot Point brings a whole new realm of activity to the area. As the town’s only dinner theatre, it’s certainly worth checking out. You won’t be disappointed, and you will walk away well fed.

    — — —

Patriot Point Theatre is located at 241 Steinwehr Ave., Gettysburg. For reservations, call 717-337-0080.

Jason Hoffman, left, and Mark Adelsberger perform a scene from “Grant Us Some Leeway.”

Staff photos by Doug Koontz Heather Rager and Jason Hoffman perform in the play “Grant Us Some Leeway” at Patriot Point in Gettysburg.

Dinner theater: 'Ghost Hunts' opens in Gettysburg