About this Event
You’ve watched the documentaries. You’ve argued with the podcasts. You’ve told your friends you would’ve spotted the clue everyone else missed. Now step inside the investigation and prove it.
Crime Scene Live brings a completely different kind of night out to the heart of Santa Monica—just off the Third Street Promenade and minutes from the beach.
Led by Don Tabak, one of Los Angeles’ most legendary homicide detectives, this live, interactive experience takes you inside an actual M**der investigation. Don closed more than 100 homicides during his LAPD career, while his department worked some of the most infamous cases in Los Angeles history, including the O.J. Simpson investigation.
Now, you get to walk through a case alongside one of the best to ever do it.
You’ll examine the evidence, follow the timeline, question witnesses and motives, challenge theories, identify contradictions, and experience the moments that changed the direction of the investigation. Don reveals what detectives knew at each stage, what they initially missed, where the case nearly fell apart—and the breakthrough that finally cracked it.
This is not a lecture.
It is not a scripted M**der mystery.
And you are not sitting quietly in the dark.
Bring your sharpest friends, compare theories, defend your instincts, and find out who actually thinks like a homicide detective—and who was confidently wrong from the beginning.
The case is selected for the performance, but Don responds directly to what each audience notices, questions, and overlooks. That means the investigation can take on a different energy every time, even when the truth remains the same.
More Than a Night Out
Crime Scene Live is being built into something much bigger: a next-generation platform designed to change how the public experiences—and responsibly engages with—real crime.
Each performance concludes by turning the spotlight toward a real ongoing cold case. Don introduces the known facts and shows how members of the public can get involved through a structured, responsible, expert-guided approach—without reckless accusations, internet vigilantism, or interfering with law enforcement.
This is entertainment with a pulse, a purpose, and the potential to create real momentum.
These intimate Santa Monica performances are your chance to experience Crime Scene Live up close—before the rooms get bigger and the next chapter begins.
First Fridays in Santa Monica
Friday, November 6 (the Halloween 1989 case) and Friday, December 4, 2026
Two performances nightly: 7:00 PM and 9:00 PM
Doors open one hour before each show. Arrive early, grab a cocktail or something to eat, and meet the people who’ll be working the case beside you.
Crime Scene Live takes place at Illusion Magic Lounge, just off the Third Street Promenade in downtown Santa Monica.
Study the evidence. Challenge the obvious answer. Trust your instincts.
Bring your crew. Work the case. We’ll see you at the scene.
Event venue & nearby stays
Illusion Magic Lounge, 1418 4th Street, Santa Monica, United States
Concerts, fests, parties, meetups — all the happenings, one place.