Mystery Dinner Kits
by Bethany Plante
Pumpernickel (the butler not the bread) was stabbed in the kitchen of an old castle in the English countryside. The Lady of the Castle has had to accept paying guests and is hosting an odd mix of American tourists and family members - one has a secret identity and another is a murderer.
ROLES: Six Male, Seven Female
Pirate's Perch is a rickety old Country Inn situated on a cliff off the coast of Maine that has recently gone up for sale. The intrigue involves New York buyers, smugglers, a Beacon Hill author, an archaeologist, a Florida timeshares salesman and some local yokels.
ROLES: Seven Male, Seven Female
It’s early 1940’s Germany on the eve of World War II. A number of travelers have booked seats on the Midnight Train to Paris, including an infamous jewel thief, an Italian opera singer, a wealthy Countess, and a brilliant scientist. Intrigues and secret motives result in murder.
ROLES: Six Female, Seven Male
Think back to the 1970's and the Cold War. The International Winter Competitions are going to be held in Colorado, and an assortment of athletes, spies, and secret royal emissaries have arrived to stay at a local chalet. Add a grumpy custodian and a fussy designer/chef and you have a recipe for murder.
Roles: Six Female, Seven Male
Play takes place on a deserted island in the Caribbean where a private cruise ship has arrived by mistake. The passengers include a movie producer and his 4th wife, a wannabe movie starlet, a French count, a professor in search of the radioactive plant "geronium", and an ambitious female reporter. The only inhabitant on the island is a suspicious, paranoid old man watching for "spies". Blackmail, romance, and intrigue lead to a most unusual murder.
Roles: Six Female, Seven Male
Menacing Night takes place at a modern art museum in Boston. It involves a cranky security guard, an anxious new curator, two bumbling art thieves, an art gallery owner that is facing bankruptcy, an art forger, a wealthy Beacon Hill couple, and an insecure terrible modern artist whose wealthy godmother is paying for his new exhibit. Oh, and an East Boston Italian couple that just won the Powerball Lottery and are thinking of investing in art.
Roles: Five Female, Seven Male
It's going to be a calamitous night when word gets out that Jerry and Joan Dennison are thinking about selling their valuable beachfront home on Cape Cod. Their children, local politicians and nature lovers plot against each other to either sell, donate or keep the land! A local beachcomber searching the beach for booty from old shipwrecks muddies the waters.
Roles: Six Female, Six Male
A well seasoned County Fair opens under a cloud as a real estate tycoon plots to buy it out and close it down. This riles the locals who love the fair, especially the pig races - which are being targeted by protesters. Add in a couple of female country singers who will stop at nothing to claw past each other to get to the top, and some romancin’ and you have the stage set for shenanigans and ...!
Roles: Six Female, Six Male
by Dick Laffin
Features a gossip columnist who has gathered embarrassing information about several Jet Setters. Dorothy has invited them to a dinner party where she presents the information she has on each person and the amount of money it will cost to keep the information out of the papers. There's lots of glitz and glitter but most of it is very phony.
ROLES: Seven Female, Five Male. Children - two or three
90 year old Cyrus Whittier is running off to Aruba with his nurse. He has invited his greedy family to dinner to let them know he is changing his will and they will now be getting none of his fortune. The family members vow not to let this happen. One engages two of the most inept hoods to take care of the 'Old Man'.
ROLES: Six Female, Seven Male
Takes place in he town of Pork Belly. A comical parody with several typical southern personalities. Colonel Jefferson's daughter will be getting married tomorrow. All is well until 'Bo' Davis returns to town and not only disrupts the wedding plans but threatens the Colonel's 'Corn Likker' business as well. There's a Southern Sheriff, a red-neck named 'Bubba', and assorted Southern 'Belles' involved in the action.
ROLES: Five Female, Seven Male (one non-speaking)
A female singing quartet that specializes in 'Golden Oldies' returns home to perform at the local cafe after being on the road for over a year. All four girls come into contact with someone from the past who complicates their lives at the cafe. Several real 'Nasty' characters in this one.
ROLES: Seven Female (includes four singers), Five Male
Captain Horatio Headwind commands the USS Albatross, a cruise ship with several zany passengers. Sheik Abdul-El-Falla-El-Falla and Princess Fatima from Kadula, Jean-Claude and Mimi Escargot, Zeke and Tabatha Owens from Crab Apple Creek and a budding Hollywood starlet are all on board. Throw in a retired Interpol inspector with a penchant for blackmail and his less than faithful girlfriend and you have a recipe for mystery, intrigue and murder.
ROLES: Six Female, Six Male
The wacky Reindorf family including a biker girl, the last hippie, a play boy and his two 'faithful' companions along with a doddering aunt gather for the reading of Aunt Louise's will. She has made some strange bequests befitting the oddities of some of her relatives. One of the family members is a big winner and is marked for death because of it.
ROLES: Six Male, Seven Female
The Wordsworth Finishing School and Academy is the target of industrial developers. Lady Victoria Wordsworth doesn't want to sell and becomes a target for murder! Her wimpish nephew, a maniacal cleaning lady with a grisly past and a disgruntled handy man add to the mix. Four soon to graduate seniors also get involved. One of the girls gets into serious trouble and has a reason for disposing of the headmistress.
ROLES: Four Male, Eight Female
Cecil B. DePill is holding auditions for the female lead in his new show. Only one actress can get the role. Cecil finds his decision is not well received by everybody - it could cost him - his life. Several typical 'Hollywood' characters are found in this one - one with a dual personality (one actress plays 2 characters).
ROLES: Five Female, Six Male
A very irreverent look at the scriptures as we know them. Stanley Rollingstone has uncovered a Fifth Gospel that tells the world Jesus' cousin Vinnie, actually was the person who performed all the miracles. Is it real? or is it a hoax? Several prestigious church leaders have come to buy the manuscripts. Father Guido Salvucci, Reverend Olivia Oliphant Oglethorpe (church lady), Tim and Jammy Barker and Princess Victoria of the Elegant, Exotic and Esoteric Evangelical Movement are after the Gospel. Throw in a shady lawyer, a demanding ex-wife plus a few more characters and you have the makings of a very exciting murder mystery.
ROLES: Four Male, Seven Female
Herb Fillbrook has been happily married for several years - to three different wives at the same time. Herb and all his wives wind up at a country inn unbeknownst to each other. When the wives finally realize what's been going on, Herb's in trouble - BIG trouble. Adding to the confusion is an attempt by Herb's business partner to gain control of the kumquat industry. Herb's the victim - a lot of people could be the killer.
ROLES: Five Male, Seven Female
Albert Clayton hosts a costume party to show off his acquisition of the largest diamond in the world. Included on the guest list are the very British Lord and Lady Atherton, the staid Prunella Puddington, the snobbish Bradford Gardiners and Calvin McGinnes, a rake if ever there was one. Of course, the diamond turns up missing causing Chief Percy Witherspoon to begin and investigation. Along with the theft, the Chief soon has a murder to investigate as well.
ROLES: Six Male, Six Female
Definitely NOT For Little Children: - 2 endings. Pokes fun at the uptight "Politically Correct" atmosphere of the 199O's. Meet your favorite characters as they take part in the Annual Nursery Land banquet: Mother Goose - she's worn to a frazzle trying to fend off the "PC Police" while keeping her characters out of the tabloids; Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary - she really lives up to her name; The Old Woman In A Shoe - the original "Gimme Girl"; Snow White - just what was she doing with those seven little dwarfs? Old King Cole - why is he so merry? The Wicked Witch - what she does to Humpty Dumpty will simply shock you; Jack & Jill - Jack goes up the hill for a pail of water - Jill wants more; The Big Bad Wolf - He's BIG! He's BAD! Little Red Riding Hood - if her Grandmother could see her now!