A SAMUEL FRENCH, INC. TITLE

Invitation to a Murder

Full-Length Play, Drama  /  3w, 8m

Rufus King

Against the background of a centuries old estate on the coast of Southern California, Lorinda Channing, the current head of a great American family, plots the perfect crime. Believing that one of her three heirs is attempting to murder her, she evolves a trap which requires the cooperation of a weak…

Invitation to a Murder

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  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    3w, 8m
  • SubGenre
    Subgenre
    Mystery/Thriller
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Adult

Details

Summary
Against the background of a centuries old estate on the coast of Southern California, Lorinda Channing, the current head of a great American family, plots the perfect crime. Believing that one of her three heirs is attempting to murder her, she evolves a trap which requires the cooperation of a weakling doctor, whom she bribes into giving her a potion that will counterfeit death. The doctor, is, at the crucial moment, suddenly tempted by incredible wealth and, to his own and the audience's belief, buries his patient alive But she returns, and her ingenious trap is sprung. At the moment of her complete triumph, it is discovered that, as with all criminals, she has made one single slip.
History
INVITATION TO A MURDER was first produced at the Masque Theatre in New York City. Directed by A. H. Van Buren.
Cast Attributes
WALTER CHANNING - about 40. A weak-looking type, distinctly effeminate although not obviously so. One knows that he is a person of culture and of the world.
ESTELLE CHANNING - about 20. A beautiful young girl, ingenous and sincere.
HORATIO CHANNING - about 35. A sinister person. Although a gentleman, he gives the impression that he is capable of anything in the line of larceny or crime.
MARTIN - a perfect servant of about 40 who moves noiselessly about the room and performs his duties with all the ease of the old family retainer.
PEDRO - a swarthy young Latin man of about 25.
PETER THORNE - a brisk, successful lawyer of about 30 with a lawyer's well-ordered mind.
LORINDA CHANNING - a tall, dignified woman of about 35 or 40 years of age. She has a compelling and hypnotic personality.
DOCTOR LINTON - about 35. A mediocre practitioner. He has none of the coolness of the successful physician, but on the contrary he is sensitive, sympathetic and not a little neurotic.
JEANETTE THORNE
MR. DICKSON
DETECTIVE SERGEANT SELBRIDGE
STATE TROOPERS, POLICE OFFICIALS, PLAINCLOTHESMEN, ETC.
  • Time Period Contemporary, 1930s
  • Setting The Great Hall of the Channing estate on the coast of Southern California.
  • Features Contemporary Costumes / Street Clothes, Period Costumes

Music

  • Musical Style N/A (Not a musical)
  • Vocal DemandsN/A (Not a musical)
  • Chorus Size N/A (Not a musical)

Licensing & Materials

  • Minimum Fee: $110 per performance

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Rufus King

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