MARQUEE MYSTERIES Return To Walkersville Southern Railroad For 15th Year

The Way Off Broadway Dinner Theatre has become known for not only its Mainstage productions that include classic musicals, as well as regional and area premieres of Broadway’s latest titles, but also for its wildly popular interactive murder mystery series.  

Launched in 2005, Marquee Mysteries has grown from producing mystery events solely at the theatre to include venues around the area. 2025 will mark the 15th year Marquee Mysteries has partnered with the Walkersville Southern Railroad to produce these live, interactive events.

Ever since Edgar Allan Poe wrote The Murders in the Rue Morgue, mysteries have been a part of our entertainment culture.  From the cases of Sherlock Holmes and Miss Marple to those of Richard Castle and Gil Grissom, everyone loves a good who dunnit?  And deep down, everyone thinks they have what it takes to be the next great sleuth.  Marquee Mysteries give audience members the chance to play detective and help solve the case.   

Since the first Marquee Mystery was presented on the Walkersville Southern Railroad in 2011, the number of regularly scheduled mystery trains has more than doubled, with one or two (or sometimes more) mystery trains held each month from May through November.  So popular are these mystery trains, tickets sell out months in advance, leaving a long waiting list by the time of the final train in November.

“When you think about it, isn’t a train a great place to have an interactive mystery?” asks Justin M. Kiska, the ‘mastermind’ behind the series and its Executive Producer.  “The idea just takes you back to Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express.” 

One of Way Off Broadway’s owners, Kiska has now written over fifty different interactive mysteries that have been “solved” at Way Off Broadway, Nora Robert’s Inn BoonsBoro, the Carriage House Inn Restaurant, and on the Walkersville Southern Railroad, as well as a number of private corporate events over the years. Kiska is also the award-nominated author of the Parker City Mysteries book series from Level best Books.

Baltimore Awards - Live Stats

Best Musical - Top 3

1. DISASTER: THE MUSICAL (Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre)

9.9% of votes

2. HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH (Maryland Ensemble Theatre)

6.5% of votes

3. THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME (September Song)

6% of votes

Vote Now!