PITTSBORO - Central Carolina Community College acting classes and the culinary arts program have combined talents to present CCCC's third annual December dinner theater, "Holiday Whodunit."

Acting I and II students, under instructor and theater director Ellen Bland, will perform an original audience participation comic mystery. Culinary arts students, under instructor Chef Gregory Hamm, will serve up six gourmet tapas-style entrees during the show.

Showtimes are 7 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 6, and Thursday, Dec. 8, in the meeting room of Chatham Community Library, 197 Highway 87 North, Pittsboro.

The "Holiday Whodunit" script, written by local playwright Drew Lasater, centers around a mystery that occurs during a dinner theater performed by "Cheatham County Community Theatre." It includes many local references and jokes, as well as featuring guest actor Pam Smith as "Cheatham County's" richest matron.

The $16 tickets cover dinner, drink and the one-hour play. Tickets are available at the CCCC Chatham County Campus main office, 764 West St., Pittsboro, or at www.brownpapertickets.com. Advance ticket purchase is required.

Previous dinner theaters performed by CCCC theater students at the Pittsboro Kiwanis building and at General Store Cafe have been very successful. With this year's production, Bland looks forward to the opportunity to showcase the culinary program.

"Chef Hamm is an extremely talented, creative, and experienced culinary artist whose work with students is impressive," Bland said. "We are thrilled to be collaborating with him."