I was leery of reviewing Hollywood Who Done It, as I had the impression it was one of those "Mystery Nite" dinners. You know the kind: waiters circle the room and try to look interested while diners decide which of a cast of flamboyant characters killed oil baron Tex Arlington. I've been saddled with a few of those productions, as an actor and a diner and they're usually excruciating.

Luckily, this show's an actual play. Pellegrino's commissioned Dennis Rolly, a waiter there for years and one of Oly's most reliable actors, to produce a theatrical event in celebration of the restaurant chain's 10th anniversary. He chose a private-eye parody script, originally written for kids but amusing enough for adults, by fellow Harlequin regular Christian Doyle. Guests receive dinner, dessert, a full bottle of wine, a jazz concert, coffee and a 90-minute play. Other than a door-prize giveaway, there was very little audience involvement opening night, but I gather that'll change in succeeding performances. There's also a full list of specialty cocktails available for $7 each, themed to the play's cast of characters.

Radio deejay and actor Jeff Hirschberg (OLT's Same Time, Next Year) got things underway around 7 p.m. by introducing Black Hills High School's five-piece jazz combo. The band acquitted itself admirably through two dinner sets. The restaurant offers a choice of chicken breast, beef "medallion," or vegetarian eggplant parmesan. (More accurately, the beef "medallion" appeared to be a slice of tender, flavorful roast beef.) It seemed a bit grandiose to refer to the sauce on either the beef or chicken as a "demi-glace," so let's use Julia Child's term "semi-demi-glace" instead. Either way, we chose a bottle of lemony Yakima Valley Chardonnay over the red option, a Yakima Merlot.

The script, a kind of Mad-magazine murder mystery, is silly enough to benefit from an alcohol haze. Robert McConkey plays Kent Ryder, a Tom Cruise substitute whose devotion to an outlandish cult may have nefarious import. Spoiler alert: he's bumped off early. The suspects include dippy hotel heiress London Marquez (Heather Christopher) and an up-and-coming move hero, Eli James (Gabe Hacker). Two detectives, tough guy Sam Gunn (Ryan Hendrickson) and quasi-German popinjay Archibald Alias (Michael Christopher), circle the action before running afoul of citric poison. Mr. Christopher seems to be having the most fun of any performer while making the least sense. The play's at its best when it throws rationality to the wind and devolves into an extended Carol Burnett Show sketch, worst when it kills time on an unfunny police subplot. Watching and heckling the action are Tim and Ingrid Goebel, charming as grade-school kids. I caught a few line glitches along the way, but nothing disastrous.

It's a pricey night at 75 simoleons, but we did have fun. Again: the wine helped.

HOLLYWOOD WHO DONE IT, 6 p.m. Friday-Saturday, through Sept. 14, noon Sunday, Sept. 8, Pellegrino's Event Center, 5757 Littlerock Rd. SW, Tumwater, $75, 360.709.9055