Synopsis
The play takes place in the library of a mansion in Chappaqua, New York in December 1940. The mansion is owned by Elsa Von Grossenknueten. She and her maid, Helsa Wenzel, are the only two occupants. In the opening scene, Helsa is killed by a masked figure. Elsa is talking to a police officer, Michael Kelly, about a scheme to catch the Stage Door Slasher. Both are unaware of the maid's murder. Michael will go undercover as Elsa's chauffer.
The next morning, we see Helsa again, only now her entire personality seems to have changed overnight. The guests Elsa has invited soon begin to arrive. They have been invited to workshop a new musical White House Merry-Go-Round. The first of the invited guests is an Irish tenor named Patrick O'Reilly. He's quickly followed by a bombastic theatre director named Ken De La Maize, and a beautiful young dancer named Nikki Crandall. Nikki is followed by a young comedian named Eddie McCuen, who takes an instant liking to Nikki. While talking with Nikki, Eddie realizes that Marjorie Baverstock, the producer, Roger Hopewell, the composer, and Bernice Roth, the lyricist, were all part of the creative team that made Manhattan Holiday, a musical which had to close due to the murders of three actresses several years ago. Eddie instantly wants to leave, and tells Nikki that she should leave as well, but before either of them can leave, Roger Hopewell and Bernice Roth arrive, meet the performers, and the group gets started with their work.
After things get underway, Marjorie is murdered, the body of Helsa is finally discovered, and the Irish tenor Patrick is also murdered. It seems that the Stage Door Slasher is back to claim more victims. Everyone is trapped in the mansion due to severe winter weather with a murderer among them. After a series of dizzy conversations, multiple trips through secret doorways leading to a labyrinth of hidden passageways, and a power outage in the mansion, multiple crimes and criminals are revealed. Eventually the Stage Door Slasher is unmasked and captured and Eddie and Nikki are going to go on a date.
The next morning, we see Helsa again, only now her entire personality seems to have changed overnight. The guests Elsa has invited soon begin to arrive. They have been invited to workshop a new musical White House Merry-Go-Round. The first of the invited guests is an Irish tenor named Patrick O'Reilly. He's quickly followed by a bombastic theatre director named Ken De La Maize, and a beautiful young dancer named Nikki Crandall. Nikki is followed by a young comedian named Eddie McCuen, who takes an instant liking to Nikki. While talking with Nikki, Eddie realizes that Marjorie Baverstock, the producer, Roger Hopewell, the composer, and Bernice Roth, the lyricist, were all part of the creative team that made Manhattan Holiday, a musical which had to close due to the murders of three actresses several years ago. Eddie instantly wants to leave, and tells Nikki that she should leave as well, but before either of them can leave, Roger Hopewell and Bernice Roth arrive, meet the performers, and the group gets started with their work.
After things get underway, Marjorie is murdered, the body of Helsa is finally discovered, and the Irish tenor Patrick is also murdered. It seems that the Stage Door Slasher is back to claim more victims. Everyone is trapped in the mansion due to severe winter weather with a murderer among them. After a series of dizzy conversations, multiple trips through secret doorways leading to a labyrinth of hidden passageways, and a power outage in the mansion, multiple crimes and criminals are revealed. Eventually the Stage Door Slasher is unmasked and captured and Eddie and Nikki are going to go on a date.
Cast List
Helsa Wenzel – Isabelle Murphy
Elsa Von Grossenknuetten – Reanna Fornash (alternate Sat. Arlette Garza)
Michael Kelly – Hayden Stephens
Patrick O’Reilly – Randy Dockendorf
Ken De La Maize – Holden Rounds
Nikki Crandall – Lanie Norris
Eddie McCuen – Colten Haliburton
Marjorie Baverstock –Hallie Stone
Roger Hopewell – Jason Sanchez
Bernice Roth – Morgan Case
The Stagedoor Slasher – Madison Gray
Rehearsals Start 08/24/23
BPAC Theatre
7 PM – 9 PM
Scripts will be ready on Thursday
Thank you to all who auditioned!
Elsa Von Grossenknuetten – Reanna Fornash (alternate Sat. Arlette Garza)
Michael Kelly – Hayden Stephens
Patrick O’Reilly – Randy Dockendorf
Ken De La Maize – Holden Rounds
Nikki Crandall – Lanie Norris
Eddie McCuen – Colten Haliburton
Marjorie Baverstock –Hallie Stone
Roger Hopewell – Jason Sanchez
Bernice Roth – Morgan Case
The Stagedoor Slasher – Madison Gray
Rehearsals Start 08/24/23
BPAC Theatre
7 PM – 9 PM
Scripts will be ready on Thursday
Thank you to all who auditioned!
Costume Inspiration
Set Design
Production Meeting Notes
Most characters need outerwear. The show is set in NY in December and it's so cold that they guests get snowed in for the day. Eddie takes his golashes off after he arrives and then immediately wants to leave and struggles putting them back on. I ordered a pair from Amazon that at least have the right color and texture of original 1940's galoshes, although they have a white sole with tread and a zipper in the front instead of buttons. Eddie also has ear muffs. Marjorie dies stabbed through a chair but our actress is in a wheelchair, so I don't have to have doubles to cut a hole in one. I do have to have doubles for Patrick who gets stabbed in the back through a sweater. Helsa the maid is killed on stage and then her dead body appears naked in a closet twice. The "killer" is going to be played by an additional actor so Dieter doesn't have to change clothes back and forth a lot. Nikki has to have a purse big enough for one gun, possibly two. And Helsa/Dieter/Katerina needs two wigs and has to wear the long one on top of the short one. Normally that role would be played by a man, but with SB 12 on the books, we are playing it safe and cast a woman. We have decided to just put Katerina in an overcoat with a scarf over her hair so that we don't have to do a third wig change and we can just cover up her costume instead of changing it. Beatrice is going to look very "gypsy" like with lots of bangles in a voluminous skirt and crocheted shawl. Roger and Bernice will be in matching color palette, green and pink. I pulled a great skirt for Bernice and bought a pink blouse. A student, heather Murphy, is crotcheting the shawl. I ordered Roger a green three piece suit and a pink LS shirt and tie. Roger will remove the jacket when they start working on the rehearsal. Ken, the director, will be in a LS shirt and sweater vest with an ascot. Michael, the fake Irish tenor, will be in an Araan sweater. Eddie, the comic, is supposed to be in ugly, loud, mismatched clothes. I have ordered him an orange suit.
We did a lot of pulling and I ordered a bunch of things for the men. This week we'll be doing all the fittings.
Monday: Maddy, Reanna, Morgan, Holden,
Tuesday: Isabell, Hayden, Arlette
Wednesday: Hallie, Lanie
Thursday: Jason
Friday: Colten, Randy
Friday we have convocation but Jason is off, so he's going to come in and finish things up for me, while I am in meetings all afternoon.
We did a lot of pulling and I ordered a bunch of things for the men. This week we'll be doing all the fittings.
Monday: Maddy, Reanna, Morgan, Holden,
Tuesday: Isabell, Hayden, Arlette
Wednesday: Hallie, Lanie
Thursday: Jason
Friday: Colten, Randy
Friday we have convocation but Jason is off, so he's going to come in and finish things up for me, while I am in meetings all afternoon.
Purchases
Fittings
Hayden plays the undercover cop Michael Kelly who is disguised as Elsa's chauffer throughout the show. We're making him a uniform from navy twill. I drafted the pattern the old fashioned way and this is the first fitting. As you can see, I made it too big, so we had to take it in at the CB, side seams, and the sleeve. No photos but the pants were also too big.
Totals:
14 costumes worn by 12 actors; 42 costume pieces and 27 costume accessories, not including jewelry or wigs. $1127.94
Headshots for the Lobby Display
Production photos
WAco Trib Article, Sept 28, 2023
"McLennan Theatre murder-mystery play puts hoot in whodunit"
Undercover cop Michael Kelly (Hayden Stephens) and actress Nikki Crandall (Lanie Norris) try to catch a murderer in a mansion in McLennan Theatre’s “The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940.”
Rod Aydelotte, Tribune-Heald
by Carl Hoover
Despite the “musical” in its title, the play opening McLennan Theatre’s 2023-24 season this weekend doesn’t have much music.
“The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940” does have comedy, however, and its 1940s setting adds more laughs with the end result the same as most musicals: smiles on audience faces. “It’s a very silly send-up of all the tropes of a murder mystery,” explained director Kelly Parker. “It’s light entertainment ... For the general theatergoer in Waco, this is in their sweet spot.”
John Bishop’s 1987 comedy, played by a 10-person cast, throws together cliches and stereotypes from both musical theater and murder mysteries, then shakes them for laughs. A creative team of director Ken De La Maize (Holden Rounds), actress Nikki Crandall (Lanie Norris), singer Patrick O’Reilly (Randy Dockendorf), comedian Eddie McCuen (Colten Haliburton), producer Marjorie Baverstock (Hallie Stone), and writers Roger Hopewell (Jason Sanchez) and Bernice Roth (Morgan Case) have assembled at the mansion of play backer Elsa Von Grossenknueten (Reanna Fornash and Arlette Garza) to run through a new musical.
McCuen notices that some of the same people were involved in another musical whose actresses were victims of the Stage Door Slasher. A short time later, two bodies are discovered, sparking the race to solve the mystery before the murderer strikes next. What follows involves German spies, an undercover cop, a Navy intelligence officer, hidden passageways, stage secrets, a convenient power failure and the repartee one imagines among theater creatives.
Those familar with the stage comedy “Clue” will find a similar vibe, Parker noted. “There’s a lot of quipping humor and it gets pretty hectic and zany at times,” he said. “The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940” opens its three-performance run on Thursday and continues through Saturday.
"The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940"
By McLennan Theatre
Performances: 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, McLennan Community College's Ball Performing Arts Center.
Tickets: $10 and $8, email [email protected] or call 254-299-8200 for ticket information.
https://wacotrib.com/life-entertainment/local/art-theater/waco-theater-stage-show-murder-mystery-mcc/article_62b36316-5d5a-11ee-b493-6f4f8aed6267.html
Despite the “musical” in its title, the play opening McLennan Theatre’s 2023-24 season this weekend doesn’t have much music.
“The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940” does have comedy, however, and its 1940s setting adds more laughs with the end result the same as most musicals: smiles on audience faces. “It’s a very silly send-up of all the tropes of a murder mystery,” explained director Kelly Parker. “It’s light entertainment ... For the general theatergoer in Waco, this is in their sweet spot.”
John Bishop’s 1987 comedy, played by a 10-person cast, throws together cliches and stereotypes from both musical theater and murder mysteries, then shakes them for laughs. A creative team of director Ken De La Maize (Holden Rounds), actress Nikki Crandall (Lanie Norris), singer Patrick O’Reilly (Randy Dockendorf), comedian Eddie McCuen (Colten Haliburton), producer Marjorie Baverstock (Hallie Stone), and writers Roger Hopewell (Jason Sanchez) and Bernice Roth (Morgan Case) have assembled at the mansion of play backer Elsa Von Grossenknueten (Reanna Fornash and Arlette Garza) to run through a new musical.
McCuen notices that some of the same people were involved in another musical whose actresses were victims of the Stage Door Slasher. A short time later, two bodies are discovered, sparking the race to solve the mystery before the murderer strikes next. What follows involves German spies, an undercover cop, a Navy intelligence officer, hidden passageways, stage secrets, a convenient power failure and the repartee one imagines among theater creatives.
Those familar with the stage comedy “Clue” will find a similar vibe, Parker noted. “There’s a lot of quipping humor and it gets pretty hectic and zany at times,” he said. “The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940” opens its three-performance run on Thursday and continues through Saturday.
"The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940"
By McLennan Theatre
Performances: 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, McLennan Community College's Ball Performing Arts Center.
Tickets: $10 and $8, email [email protected] or call 254-299-8200 for ticket information.
https://wacotrib.com/life-entertainment/local/art-theater/waco-theater-stage-show-murder-mystery-mcc/article_62b36316-5d5a-11ee-b493-6f4f8aed6267.html