Main Street News

A murder mystery dinner theater production doesn’t seem like something you’d just fall into, but that’s exactly what happened to Frank Marquette. 

Raised in Kingston, NY, Frank previously worked as a graphic designer, as an advertising executive, and in print newspaper publishing. He started performing on stage in high school and has been acting in various capacities ever since. While working in advertising in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in the mid-90s, Frank was searching for a creative outlet to participate in during his free time. 

He landed in murder mystery dinner theater, a popular form of dinner theater in which the play is a murder mystery and the diners are often invited to help solve the mystery as they eat and watch the play. “I fell in love with the genre. It really gave me everything I was looking for creatively,” Frank shared. 

Passionate about his craft, when Frank and his family moved to Las Vegas in 1997, he was searching for another mystery dinner theater company to join. He came up empty handed, and instead, decided to start his own production company. In 1998, Murder Cafe was officially born. 

“It’s been my passion and my full-time occupation for the last 13 years. I work at this seven days a week, and I’ve never been quite as busy as I am right now,” Frank laughed. “It satisfied all of my creative urges and gave me an opportunity to give back and provide opportunities to actors who had never been paid.”

In December, Frank will be pulling back the curtain to reveal his life behind the production of Murder Cafe with his new book, The True Story of Murder Cafe: How One Family’s Plunge into Mystery Dinner Theater Made the World a Better Place. The autobiography tells the story of Murder Cafe through the eyes of Frank and his family, their actors, clients, and audience members. 

Taking a peek behind the curtain 

For many years, Frank was involved in every process of producing the shows. He used to write the scripts, cast the actors, act in the shows himself, direct, and oversee every other element to producing the shows. Now, he is still deeply involved in many of these processes, but has taken a step back from acting and directing the shows. 

“Because of my marketing background, I’m able to form really great alliances with venues throughout the Hudson Valley,” he said. “I’m still involved in the writing, selling, and marketing of many of the shows.” 

Murder Cafe is also a family affair; Frank’s wife Kristen and his three daughters have all been involved with the organization since its inception. Though Frank’s daughters are less involved now since they have grown up and forged their own career paths, they played a vital role in getting the organization off of the ground. 

Kristen not only specializes in the design and construction of original costumes, but she also contributes to the writing of the scripts. As a professional makeup and hair stylist, she also dresses, styles, and preps each actor before the show. 

Bringing the show back home to the Hudson Valley

Getting Murder Cafe off of the ground in Las Vegas was easy, as Frank had plenty of talent and venues at his fingertips. Bringing it back to the Hudson Valley in 2009 proved to be a bit more difficult, but none of the challenges that Frank encountered were unsurmountable. 

“We started coming back here to visit a lot, since my mother had moved back to the Hudson Valley and my youngest daughter was attending Vassar College. It was time to move back home and it felt right to bring Murder Cafe home with us,” Frank explained. 

He kickstarted Murder Cafe in the Hudson Valley with virtually nothing that first year. Frank spent a lot of time knocking on doors to appeal to people and connecting with local actors and venues. 

“The Hudson Valley has so much theater, but the murder mystery genre is in a separate category. Some actors are leery of it; I was one of them once! But once people work with us, they see the world a little differently,” Frank shared. “It’s a great opportunity to not only exercise creativity, but to also entertain and engage with people directly.” 

Changes in themes 

As far as show themes go, Frank avoids engaging in stereotypes. He notes that many murder mystery dinner theater shows capitalize on the stereotype of the Italian mobsters, but Murder Cafe prefers to illustrate different themes in their shows, including incorporating local history. Frank also enjoys overcoming misconceptions that people may have about what murder mystery dinner theater truly is.

“We work regularly at Mohonk Mountain House, and the last seven years, we’ve done a different theme. We’ve previously done alien and speakeasy themes, and we always incorporate music and comedy. I won’t do a show without at least two or three songs.” 

Frank has also noticed that the audiences are more diverse now than he’s ever seen them before. At Murder Cafe shows, he’s noticing a wide range of age groups, genders, and races in the audience, as well as an uptick in younger people attending shows. 

“I think community theater has this stigma of having audiences that are all seniors, and that’s not necessarily true anymore,” he said. 

A challenge that Frank is encountering more and more frequently, however, is the audience’s inability to disconnect from their phones during the shows.

“We’re battling smartphones all the time. Why someone would leave their house, drive to a live show, and then spend it scrolling through Facebook is beyond me,” he emphasized. “Many people think as well that because they paid admission that it’s their right to photograph. I would prefer the audience watch the show live and not through their phone screens.”

In the book, Frank shares multiple examples of other smaller obstacles that show themselves on a regular basis. Among them are missing costume pieces, an actor who didn’t show up for the production, and a sound person that isn’t available. 

“It’s about the magic of making it work no matter what. Overcoming obstacles is part of the creative process, and that’s really where it becomes worthwhile.”  

Putting pen to paper 

Penning an autobiography about what it’s like to run Murder Cafe seemed like the most natural course of action for Frank. Five years ago when his oldest daughter was working in Hollywood, she presented an idea for a television series based on Murder Cafe. 

Frank and his family ended up signing an agreement for the rights to the show, but ultimately, nothing ever came of it. He had been keeping notes and writing his story in anticipation of the show, and during the pandemic, he realized that there was a book there. 

“I wouldn’t have done it if I didn’t think the story had benefits for people to read,” Frank said. “The message is to listen to the voice in your head, give yourself an opportunity to exercise what’s inside of you, and if that can benefit others, well, what’s better than that?”

The True Story of Murder Cafe: How One Family’s Plunge into Mystery Dinner Theater Made the World a Better Place will be available for purchase in early December. Published by Troy Book Makers, you can pre-order a copy of the book here. Frank will be hosting a handful of book launch parties in January. To stay updated on new productions for 2025, visit Murder Cafe’s website here.