Italian food’s appeal is no mystery. But the cuisine makes the perfect backdrop for Royal Kids Theatre’s fall whodunnit.

“Mamma Mia! The Secret of the Spoon” is planned for 6:30 p.m. Oct. 25. Tickets are $20, all-inclusive and available for purchase online or at the KU Academy front office.

With their three-course dinners, audiences will get a taste of Kids Unlimited’s next youth entrepreneurial project and its culinary focus: handmade pasta. “Mamma Mia! The Secret of the Spoon” satisfies theater goers’ appetites for both mystery and comedy while the KU Food Program serves a meal to savor.

“I chose it because I thought the theme worked perfectly, said BriAnna Johnson, music and theater teacher at Kids Unlimited Academy.

Set in the family-owned restaurant Mamma Mia’s, the show centers around the death of 98-year-old matriarch Nonni Pastalucci and the disappearance of her very special spoon. The Pastaluccis find themselves in hot water as they accuse one another of stealing, hiding or misplacing the spoon — believed to be the key to Nonni’s famous tiramisu. Will they find it before dessert is served?

As characters search and speculate, the cast indulges in delicious food-themed puns and outrageous Italian accents all while serving guests at the Pastaluccis’ successful eatery. Pasta shapes inspire characters’ names from Eddy Spaghetti and Lucia Linguine to Angelia Rotini and Sophia Tortellini.

The cast of “Mamma Mia! The Secret of the Spoon” includes KUA fifth graders Eleanor Goar, Fernanda Velez, Kimberly Valle Cortez, Alex Cortes-Quezada and Mia Russell; fourth graders Xavier Bautista, Valentina Mejia-Medina, Willow Moore, Marina Sanchez and Austyn Souza; and third grader Luis Alcantara.

Purchase tickets at kuaoregon.org/tickets and click over to kuoregon.org/donate to support our enrichment programs in the arts.