Audience Plays a Role in ‘Murder’ : Each guest is grilled by a police officer in the South Orange County Community Theatre dinner/production.

The South Orange County Community Theatre, two years old, has turned to crime. The kind that involves audience feedback.

“Murder by the Beach” is one of those dinner-theater productions that invites the audience to play detective. It’s the group’s first whodunit, following Shakespeare by the sea (“A Midsummer Night’s Dream” done last summer in Bluff Park) and, earlier, a drama about AIDS, William Hoffman’s “As Is.”

“We wanted to do something different,” explained SOCCT president B.J. Scott, co-producer of “Murder by the Beach,” which was written and directed by her husband, Tom Scott. Tom is also one of the four cast members (murder suspects all).

Set at an art gallery in a contemporary California beach town, the play--and the dinner--are offered at the Dana Point Youth and Group Facility (which adds to the atmosphere implicit in the play’s title; the hall is located at the water’s edge).

As each playgoer enters, there’s a brief grilling by a cop who is standing at a marked crime scene. Once inside, there are appetizers and faux champagne and a chance to browse at the local artwork on display--and (nice touch) really for sale--in the “gallery.”

What the audience doesn’t know is that some of the browsers are in the play, which unfolds with the detective’s announcement that a murder has been committed. Seems a mysterious sculptor who had business dealings with the gallery owner met his demise by getting conked with one of his own creations. Or did he?

As things develop, even the detective is a suspect. There are hints, in fact, that the murderer had an accomplice. During the next couple of hours, the audience becomes privy to tangled relationships and motives.

Though it’s ultimately too tangled--and not compelling enough--”Murder by the Beach” does offers earnest performances. Indeed, the players remain convincingly in character during mealtime, “working” the tables to drop hints and allegations about the other suspects.

Interactive murder mystery theater is, of course, largely a matter of taste, suited to those who’ve dreamed of jumping into an episode of “Murder, She Wrote.” Dinner theater itself can prove tough to swallow. In this instance, the spread--which wraps with terrific cheesecake--has a Cornish game hen entree that proves delicious but trickier to eat than solving any crime.

‘MURDER BY THE BEACH’

A South Orange County Community Theatre production written and directed by Tom Scott. With Scott, Judy Winn, Ron Lance and Kerene Barnard. At the Dana Point Youth and Group Facility, 34451 Ensenada Place, Dana Point, Friday through Sunday and again April 19 and 20, at 7:30 p.m. Tickets: $49, group rates available. (714) 248-0808.