Faith Lutheran Church in Windham hosted a mystery dinner theater performance on Saturday, April 12, with two showings benefitting local charities.

Beth Wynn Shirk, a lay minister at the church, said previous shows were performed in the more traditional murder mystery format. The murder element was removed this time around due to concerns that it would be insensitive in the wake of the Lewiston mass shooting.

The show, which was accompanied by a four-course meal, had two seatings, and featured a tiki bar serving mocktails. Shirk told Lakes Region Now that the event was sold out, with a total of 120 tickets sold between the two performances.

All proceeds from the show will be donated to three charities, with each performance and the tiki bar, respectively, going toward a different charity. The noon seating benefited Maine Needs, a Portland-based organization looking to address the immediate basic needs of vulnerable Mainers, while proceeds from the tiki bar went toward the Essentials Pantry, a charity organized by St. Ann’s Episcopal Church. The Essentials Pantry helps families currently using government assistance programs such as SNAP and food vouchers by providing them with items such as soap, toilet paper, and paper towels, which their current benefits do not cover.

Proceeds from the evening show will benefit the Sebago Lake Fuller Center for Housing, the Lakes Region branch of a national Christian charity founded by Millard Fuller of Habitat for Humanity. Shirk said that the purpose of the Fuller Center is to help veterans, senior citizens, and the disabled stay in their homes by building handicap-accessible ramps, cleaning out their yards, and fixing their roof, among other things.

Past themes have included 1930s Paris and New Orleans at Mardi Gras. For 2025, the show was themed to Hawaii, with pastiches of classic television shows such as Hawaii Five-0, Magnum P.I., and Gilligan’s Island, men dressed in hula skirts learning to hula dance, and a “Heist in Hawaii” mystery that guests were encouraged to help solve.

The event also featured a silent auction, opportunities to sing nostalgic theme songs from the TV shows, as well as talented musicians and corny actors.