ISBN: 978-0-573-69212-3

Comedy

Mark Chandler

4m, 5f

This rollicking romp is a melange of off the wall farce and near murder mystery. Every role is a gem. Guests are due at Lady Valonia's stately manor (a castle with a weird history) the announcement of her nephew Dustin's engagement to Judy Blake. Unluckily, Dustin's former flame also arrives to find out why Dustin dumped her while Judy's brother is persuaded to go shoot at starlings. The family solicitor is on his way to change Valonia's will (out of Dustin's favor) and Judy's school chum Gwendolyn is coming to ensnare Dustin's cousin, a humble curate. A stray bullet enters the library and Dustin finds Valonia with a hole in her blouse oozing warm red liquid. By the time he gets help, the body has vanished. Meanwhile, the picketing cooks' and maidservants' unions have raised the drawbridge, entrapping everyone as night falls. The solicitor's wife thinks he's having an affair with Gwendolyn and arrives with horsewhip in hand on the incoming fire engine who said the place was on fire? Endless belly laughs precede the utterly insane finale.

FEE: $75 per performance.