For years now Drunken Devil has been serving up parties whose signature feature has been character interaction with an expanding cast of sinners. Yet while the parties move from theme to theme, one event keeps coming back: To Live and Di(n)e In LA — a dinner party with some of LA’s most notorious killers and tragic murder victims.

The macabre favorite started as a one-off and has since become it’s own sub-brand of DD. And while producer Matt Dorado has added brunches with a burlesque flair to his company’s offerings, there hasn’t been another full dinner experience. Until now.

Tickets just went on sale for The Garden of Eden which is billed as an “immersive, three-hour supper club where you’ll experience the temptation and fall of man, Drunken Devil style.” The Garden will be offering two seatings on August 10th and 11th.

We caught up with Dorado to see what this return to the dinner format has in store, and what’s been inspiring him of late.

No Proscenium: You’ve been doing brunch pop-ups, but this is your first new dinner set-up in a while — what have you learned from running To Live and Di(n)e In LA these past few years?

Matt Dorado: I’ve learned a hell of a lot. There are many immersive dining experiences out there, but I believe ours is one of the few that digs in with the interactions, where you are face-to-face with characters that engage with, and often challenge, you while you eat. Adding this layer of interaction — an element of live theatre where things are never the same twice — over the incredibly fast-paced and sometimes unpredictable nature of dinner service has brought its share of challenges. I’ve learned that timing is critical, that something will inevitably go wrong and that I have to be prepared for any sort of issue. Our show is unique in that characters are actually seated with guests, which has sometimes required us to shift guests around. There have never been any major problems, and we’re fine-tuning every time we remount the show. It’s definitely one of my favorite productions, and it’s inspired me to grow the interactive dinner concept…hence The Garden of Eden.

NP: So we all know that “immersive” often lay in the eye of the beholder — where on the spectrum is the Garden of Eden’s elements falling?

MD: The Garden of Eden is going to be similar to Live and Di(n)e, in that guests will be interacting with various characters throughout the cocktail hour and dinner portion. They’ll be a part of the overarching narrative. Unlike Live and Di(n)e, however, characters will not be sitting down at the table with guests. There will be opportunities at this venue to have more intimate one-on-one experiences with our various angels and demons, which we haven’t had the opportunity to do at Live and Di(n)e because of the setup. So I’d say it once more fits into our ‘immersive lite’ style of experiences, with equal focus on the cuisine, character interactions, and cocktails.

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NP: You recently went to Evermore park, and if what I’ve seen on you from social is an indication, you found some inspiration there. What got you going and is there a through line to what you’re making here?

MD: First of all, I want to encourage everyone and anyone who has a sliver of an interest in immersive theatre to go to Evermore. It’s truly unlike anything I ever experienced.

What struck me the most when I went to Evermore was the sheer intricacy of it all. While there was one primary quest, we got sucked into all sorts of side stories, and had to go two nights to get a full experience. I’ve never seen anything like it. The experience really opened my eyes to what I can do in terms of storytelling.

I’ve been developing a ‘universe’ of sorts with the various characters featured at Drunken Devil parties, and I think that my trip to Evermore just encouraged me to really embrace that narrative I’ve built and expand it.

The Garden of Eden, for instance, will be focused on the Drunken Devil character, and will also be introducing God as a character in the universe. You’ll be able to see how they interact, and what their relationship is and has been. You’ll find out how he became the Drunken Devil, and how he initiated the Fall of Man.

The characters you’ve seen at past parties are going to resurface in new and exciting ways in the coming years; with each new experience, you’ll learn more and more about the Devil, his ‘Sinful Seven’, God, and how they all relate to one another in the ‘universe.’

In terms of fully expanding the narrative, I don’t think that we’re going to go full ARG any time soon, but when I think about what I want to produce in the future, I think it’s time to really push past the boundaries of what’s expected of me and the brand. I’m here to tell stories.

It just so happens that those stories will get you drunk.

The Garden of Eden has two seatings — August 10th & 11th — at a location to be revealed in Los Angeles. Tickets are $175 and the event is, obviously, 21+.

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