Play Suggestions: help with fall show

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help with fall show

Printed From: Community Theater Green Room
Category: Producing Theater
Forum Name: Play Suggestions
Forum Discription: Need help finding a show that's right for your theater? Ask here.
URL: http://www.communitytheater.org/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=1877
Printed Date: 5/19/24 at 2:48am
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Topic: help with fall show

Posted By: alice
Subject: help with fall show
Date Posted: 6/06/06 at 5:50pm

Hi Guys, I am wanting to do some sort of Murder Mystery play for my fall production at our local high school. There seems to be an abundant amount to choose from. Does anyone have a suggestion of one that worked really well? I would really appreciate any help. Thanks! Alice

Replies:

Posted By: castMe
Date Posted: 6/06/06 at 6:05pm

You're right, Alice. There are hundreds of murder mysteries available in a variety of sub-genres. Do you want to do a "straight" mystery like "The Mousetrap"? (It didn't run in London for a thousand years for nothing), or a comedy-farce like "Drop Dead" (my personal all-time favorite comedy...ranked ahead of, and resembling "Noises Off"). Maybe you'd prefer a musical-mystery-comedy like "Something's Afoot".

Knowing which kind of show you want to do will better help you find the one that's right for your theater, patrons and available talent pool.

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Investigate. Imagine. Choose.

Posted By: Topper
Date Posted: 6/06/06 at 8:17pm

Don't forget the mystery-thrillers like "Deathtrap" or "Wait Until Dark." These are sure to elicit a few screams from your audience, if that's what you're after.

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"None of us really grow up. All we ever do is learn how to behave in public." -- Keith Johnstone

Posted By: alice
Date Posted: 6/06/06 at 11:05pm

One more little problem...we are not in our performing arts center this fall, so i need something easy to stage. Since this is high schol kids I would like some outragous characters. Lots of laughs. I will look at Drop Dead. Where might I find the rights to that show? Also, I would like a large cast. hmmm anything else I might have left off? Anyway, thanks! Alice

Posted By: Kathy S
Date Posted: 6/07/06 at 12:28am

Arsenic & Old Lace is an obvious choice.

Posted By: castMe
Date Posted: 6/07/06 at 6:11am

Drop Dead is a Samuel French play by Milmore and Van Zandt.

This show has Laugh Out Loud stuff on every page. Every character gets great stuff. Fairly inexpensive to mount. Biggest outlay after royalties is breakaway bottles.

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Investigate. Imagine. Choose.

Posted By: Martin
Date Posted: 6/07/06 at 9:24am

I directed Agatha Christie's A Murder is Announced in
November 2004 and Billy St. John's Murder's in the Heir (this
show has 9 different possible endings--the audience, during
intermission, votes for the killer and the cast members do not
know until the final scene and then present one of the 9
endings) in November 2000 with high school casts. The
students and the audiences enjoyed the experiences and so
did I.
Good luck in your search!

Posted By: alice
Date Posted: 6/07/06 at 9:31am

Martin, who has the rights to either of those shows. The possible nine ending sounds just what I am wanting. Alice

Posted By: k8tt
Date Posted: 6/07/06 at 2:55pm

We did Murder's in the Heir by Billy St. John last year and the audience loved being a part of the play. We did it as 'dessert theatre' so the audience could vote on who the murderer was while they ate at intermission. Lots of good characters that can be played by teens and only one interior set. You need to have a venue that can be totally blacked out, though, for when 'the lights go out' and the murder happens.

Only disappointing thing is that most audience members will say that the butler or nurse did it. We tried to give each murder suspect a night to be the murderer no matter how the audience voted, but the butler got to do it most nights. I was the housekeeper and got to be murderer one night. Learning all those lines was 'murder'. *G*

You can get Murder's in the Heir through Pioneer Drama Service, Inc.

Posted By: upstager
Date Posted: 6/18/06 at 1:58pm

There's "NIGHT WATCH"...murder mystery...cast of 9. Takes place in one room. Check it out.