Judge Warshauer, played by Paul Warshauer (left) and Otto Schleissithoff, played by Mark Santelman (right) butt heads in a scene from “Who Murdered My Sweetheart?” a murder-mystery dinner show that will be performed at New Ulm’s Best Western Plus for Valentine’s Day. The show is a Romeo and Juliet plot combined with a merger between two rival candy companies.

NEW ULM – This Valentine’s Day, a special murder-mystery dinner show is coming to New Ulm Best Western Plus that aims for the heart.

The show is called “Who Murdered My Sweetheart?,” and it tells a story in which two rival candy companies are forced to bury the hatchet after the owners’ children fall in love. It means the two companies are going to need to merge. A judge is brought in to preside over the merger, but then a murder puts a halt on everything.

The show was written and directed by Paul Warshauer, who has written nearly 500 murder mystery shows through his Murder for Fun business. He started writing them in 1991 and has performed a mystery in all 50 states and has set them in nearly every place imaginable. The latest show and dinner will be held on Valentine’s Day (Feb. 14) in the New Ulm Conference Center (NUCC), located inside the New Ulm Best Western Plus. The show will feature a Valentine’s theme.

“It’s basically Romeo and Juliet meets the candy industry,” Warshauer said.

Mark Santelman will play Otto Schleissithoff, the head of one of the candy companies. His son, Sven has fallen in love with his candy rival’s daughter. Each of the kids own 33% of the company. It is decided the two rival factions need to merge. The NUCC will served as town hall meeting place for all the concern parties to discuss the details of the merger. Of course, the meeting is disrupted by a murder.

Who is the victim? Only Warshauer knows. The identity of the victim is kept a secret until the show starts. Even the cast cast doesn’t know who will be the victim until the performance.

Warshauer said sometimes he tells the actor playing the victim right before the show if they are required to wear some type of appliance.

The idea of this mystery dinner theater is the audiences are encouraged to be active in solving the mystery. Audiences will even have a chance to cross examine the characters. The show has around seven to eight actors mingling in character with the audience before the show during a social hour. In between meal service the actors will performed scenes to set the plot in motion.

Since there is some interacting with the audience, the actors do need to improvise within character, but not everything is improvised. The staging and blocking of the audience is scripted and some lines need to be delivered at the right time.

“It’s ‘devised theatre,'” Warshauer said.

In crafting a murder mystery script, it is important to have the right actor for the part. Warshauer writes each character with a specific actor in mind. In writing Mark Santelman’s part he settled on an autocratic businessman because it matched his style.

“I would never write a shy or demure character for Mark,” Warshauer said. “He’s got to be bombastic!”

Santleman has appeared in 40 murder mysteries written by Warshauer.

“Paul’s devised a formula for the actors to create the scene,” Santleman said. “For the actor, this is a formula to hone your craft.”

Warshauer is also getting on the acting fun for this show. He will play the judge presiding over the candy factory merger.

“It is the first show where I’ve played a Judge,” Warshauer said.

This is the fourth show Warshauer has brought to New Ulm’s Best Western, but it will be the first post-COVID.

Beth Scott, general manager of Green Mill Restaurant and director of sales is happy to see the shows returned.

“We are very excited to present this,” she said.

The murder-mystery social hour is from 5 to 6:30 p.m. with the show starting at 7 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 14. The dinner includes a spinach salad with cranberries, almonds and white balsamic vinaigrette. The main coarse is blackened chicken or blackened salmon on a bed of lemon garlic linguine and asparagus. Dessert is crème brulee cheesecake.

Tickets can be purchased at the Green Mill or the NUCC sales office or by phone at 507-359-2941. Tickets are $60 a piece with a free bottle of wine with two tickets. A full table for six is $300.

Warshauer said the show is the “perfect heart warming murder-mystery for Valentines Day.”