The Governor's Inn was booming with noise and merriment, and that's before the show even began.

The event was the "Mystery of the Murder at the Kountry Hoedown" dinner theater show on Friday night, and each table was packed to capacity with people eating, drinking and soaking up the atmosphere. The banquet hall had been turned into a place straight out of Clampettville, complete with banjo players, bass fiddlers and harmonica players. It wasn't just any night, either-it was the night of the celebration of Cletus Chixx's 100th birthday, and the whole clan turned out to join in the fun.

Except some of them weren't happy that ol' Cletus made it all the way to triple digits, and one of them had decided to do something about it.

I was ushered to my seat by Zeb (Peter Dunbar) and Jeb (Todd Fernald), two of three triplets (the third, Reb, died in a freak accident and his body was never found). They urged me to get myself a drink and some eats, so I helped myself to some vegetable dip and cheese; cornbread with sweet butter was waiting on the table. Each table had the chance to socialize a little before the action began. The few people who got there slightly late, as my companion did, became involuntary improv volunteers to help the Balladeer (Mike Morris) get the celebration rolling.

As I said, we found out quickly enough that not everyone was happy for Cletus (David Durham). Sexy young nurse Dixie (Gina Carballo) was betrothed to Cletus but was actually in love with Cletus' grandson, Jeb. She had, in fact, unwittingly agreed to marry Cletus and needed his money to help care for her Granny (Denise McDonough). Cletus' son-in-law, Victor (Dan Barth), had a few dirty business dealings with Cletus that he was anxious for the old coot not to discover. Granny didn't want the old bird anywhere near her precious granddaughter and had strapped a gun to the inside of her thigh in case the opportunity presented itself for her to rectify the situation. And Vanessa (Sarah Shanahan), Victor and Ellen's daughter, had learned that Ellen (Linda Lee Lippmeir) wasn't actually Cletus' daughter, and therefore she wasn't entitled to doodley squat once Cletus kicked it-if anyone found that out, that is. And Zeke (David Kaye), the triplets' father, was still so bereft for the loss of his favorite triplet, he could barely see enough to protect his father. Not to mention, everyone in the county knew about Cletus' several-times-a-day dose of vitamin V (Viagra) and just where he kept the bottle.

We were ushered from room to room, enjoying crab puffs in one room, whisky sours in the next, and champagne in the bridal suite. Each room found a set of actors playing out various scenes. When we came back to the banquet hall, a murder had taken place. It was up to all of us to solve the barnyard crime.

The Governor's Inn is known for their murder mysteries-this is the eighth annual-and there's a reason for it. The meal of ribs, roasted chicken, succotash, whipped potatoes and a banana pudding for dessert was delicious and perfectly suited the country motif. The story, by Todd Fernald, was fun and intriguing, and complemented wonderfully by Mike Morris' original music. The top-notch and much experienced cast pulled out all the stops, making for a rip-roaring good time.

"Mystery of the Murder at the Kountry Hoedown" continues at the Governor's Inn, 78 Wakefield St., Rochester, through March 12. Tickets are $49 on Fridays and $59 on Saturdays. Call 603-332-0107 for more information.