Arena Dinner Theatre Presents 

Murdered to Death

by Peter Gordon

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Director Prentis Moore

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Auditions: September 8 & 9 at 7 pm 

Prepare: Please be prepared to read from the script. Please have all conflicts at the time of auditions.

Show Summary: This hilarious spoof of the best of Agatha Christie traditions is set in a country manor house in the 1930s, with an assembled cast of characters guaranteed to delight—Bunting, the butler; an English Colonel with the prerequisite stiff upper lip; a shady French art dealer and his moll; the bumbling local inspector and a well-meaning local sleuth who seems to attract murder wherever she goes—they’re all here, and all caught up in the side-splitting antics which follow the mysterious death of the house’s owner. It soon becomes clear that the murderer isn’t finished yet, but will the murderer be unmasked before everyone else has met their doom, or will readers and audiences die laughing first?

Characters:

The characters in Murdered to Death are all deliberately based upon ‘whodunnit’ stereotypes. Experience over many productions shows that the humor works best when they are played relatively ‘straight.’ Ages are for guidance only and can be varied, provided that the overall balance is maintained. Actors of all ages are encouraged to audtions. 

 

• Mildred - Late fifties. Moderately wealthy owner of Bagshot House.

• Dorothy - Mildred’s niece. Late twenties and rather plain.

• Bunting - The butler. Sixties. Pedantic and rather creepy.

• Colonel Charles Craddock - Early sixties. Dresses in tweeds. Confident but blustering.

• Margaret Craddock - The long-suffering but acerbic wife of Charles.

• Elizabeth Hartley-Trumpington - Mid-twenties. Attractive and stunningly dressed. Very high society.

• Pierre Marceau - A French art dealer in his early thirties. An exaggerated French accent.

• Joan Maple - A spinster in her sixties. Amateur sleuth.

• Constable Thomkins - Young, bright uniformed village policeman.

• Inspector Pratt - Inept, posing, and clumsy.

Rehearsals will begin the week of September 16, 2024, and will typically be Monday-Friday 7 pm-10 pm. Some Sunday rehearsals might be called.

Performances are scheduled for Oct 25, 26, Oct 31, Nov 1, 2, 8 & 9 at 7:30 pm, and Nov 3 at 2 pm