Murder Mystery in Worcester: Bookstore Owner Off'd By Staff Members

"Rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated," bookstore owner Larry Abramoff told BTW, quoting Mark Twain. Abramoff, owner of Tatnuck Bookseller & Sons in Worcester, Massachusetts, was featured in a new dinner theater murder mystery as the victim (he played himself as a ghost). The sold-out show was performed at Tatnuck to benefit the Boys and Girls Club of Worcester. Actors mixed with the audience during the three-hour, interactive, buffet-style dinner.

Abramoff founded Tatnuck Bookseller & Sons in a different location in Worcester in 1975. The current store, opened in 1991, is a wood-planked, 27,000-square-foot space with high ceilings and multiple skylights. Tatnuck also features a full restaurant and a new martini bar.

The show, called "Who Off'd Abramoff?" was created, scripted, and performed by the staff of Tatnuck. Tickets were $30, and the audience of 131, while eating hors' d'oeuvres, mingled with cast members. Attendees interviewed each actor, every one of them a suspect, to figure out who whacked their boss.

Tatnuck's owner Larry Abramoff (horizontal) and staff member Chris Plante act a scene from the benefit performance of "Who Off'd Abramoff?"

Abramoff said the idea "came out of the people at Tatnuck. They're all crazy." He also added that they're creative and fun, and that he loved their concept of murdering him. "When [the staff] told me they wanted to kill me, I thought it was a great idea," he said. "It's the best indication of morale and team spirit I've seen in 28 years."

In a perfect opportunity for ad-lib, Abramoff's real-life insurance agent was in the audience. Abramoff had recently signed a new life-insurance policy (for an undisclosed amount), and when audience members interviewed him, he mentioned that his wife, Gloria, stood to make a killing. He then pointed out his agent, who became an unwitting part of the show with audience members grilling him about Abramoff's policy and how much the widow would get.

The audience loved the event, and Tatnuck raised $600 for the Boys and Girls Club. Abramoff said he can't go to the deli or supermarket without customers telling him, "I thought you were dead." Another dinner mystery theater is in the works for Halloween. Abramoff said, "Next time I want to come back and haunt the bookstore." --Karen Schechner