ABOUT THE SHOW

ACT ONE
The stormy evening of June 13, 1942. East Hampton, New York. The body of Rita Ramose, the world-famous flamingo (sorry) flamenco dancer, lies dead on the drawing room floor of DeManor Manor, her shroud-covered body surrounded by six suspects.

Jessica Martin (Gussie) holding the murder weapon,
showing it to (L) Nigel Pegram (Wilson) & (R) Tim Flavin (Nick)

Enter Nick Lambent, the "tap-dancing detective," his hard-boiled sidekick, Gussie, and jazz band in tow. He quickly finds the murder weapon—a woman’s flamingo ... FLAMENCO shoe driven 3-7/16 inches into Miss Ramose’s forehead—and vows to unmask the murderer in his own inimitable style. Wilson, the butler, recounts the bizarre events leading up to the murder, most importantly that Rita had danced every night for the past 8 months while everyone dutifully watched. Why? And why had Wilson, in reality Rita’s former manager, masqueraded as a butler? Food for thought. Unfortunately, thinking is Nick’s tragic flaw. Sure, his feet work miracles, but why can’t he crack just one case with his head like other detectives? Gussie brings Nick back to his senses and as he dances off in search of clues, she reveals her unrequited romance.

Why had everyone put up with Rita’s tyrannical rule for 8 months? And why had Eliot Payson III and his actress-wife, Veronica Chandler, been second-honeymooning at DeManor Manor, once again for 8 months? Nick grills Eliot for answers and Eliot, sick of always being the scapegoat, launches into an impassioned defense. In quick succession, Nick nearly drinks a poisoned daiquiri and then narrowly escapes being crushed by seven falling sandbags! Who rigged the traps? Cecily and Courtly DeManor, the proprietors of the East Hampton mansion, perhaps? Very likely. And even more likely when Nick’s feet reveal their true identities—a world-famous dance team who mysteriously dropped out of sight 10 years ago. Why? As a form of defense, they give a dazzling display of their ballroom style. But Nick presses on and through a "dance" interrogation forces a confession from Cecily! She slammed the shoe into Rita’s skull with her hand. Case closed? Not quite. Veronica confesses. Then Courtly. Then Eliot. All six suspects confess! Flooded with frustration over the conflicting evidence and his inability to figure out whodunnit with his head, Nick lashes out at his magic feet wishing that he never had them. And Poof! Nick's wish comes true. Communication with his feet is severed! Disaster! As the act ends, a dejected Nick limps off to be alone leaving Gussie to guard the suspects.

Ginger Land as Rita, with her favorite musical instruments

ACT TWO
45 minutes later. No Nick. Angry and worried, Gussie sings of her frustrated life. Nick limps back on, revived! He’s found the mate to the murder weapon and it has a forged shoe size! Not only that, whoever fits that shoe is the killer. How so? The murder weapon wasn’t just slammed into Señorita Ramose’s skull, it had to have been stomped. Rita Ramose was done in by dance!! With the help of a "lowdown hoedown" Nick tries the shoe on everyone and it fits … Veronica, the actress, who drunkenly tells of her past with Rita. But is Veronica really the only one the shoe fits? Everyone had a past with Rita and each past had something to do with dance. It has to be in the feet. And the outcome? Rest assured there’s a plot twist or two, a few more songs, a fight to the finish, and what would a self-respecting "tap-fable-murder-mystery musical" be without a happy ending?!