The death of a controversial professor prompts his college to hire an expensive detective in Brad Rogers' A Certain Mystery, Paragon Theatre Company's debut offering in the Baltimore Playwrights Festival.

Rogers, who is also making his festival debut, is an attorney who serves as program manager of 1,000 Friends of Maryland, a statewide group that pushes for smart growth. A Certain Mystery, which opens tomorrow, is co-directed by Roy Hammond and Sherrionne Brown. The cast is headed by Gordon Embry, in the role of the detective, and also includes Debbie Bennett, Leo Knight, Denis L. Latkowski and Adam Roffman.

Show times at Paragon, 9 W. 25th St., are 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, and 2 p.m. Sundays, through Aug. 25. Tickets are $15. For more information, call 410-467-1966.