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Something's Afoot

A Murder/Mystery Musical in 2 acts: Book, Music and Lyrics by James McDonald, David Vos and Robert Gerlach. Additional music by Ed Linderman.

Lyceum Theatre Broadway - 27 May, 1976 (61 perfs)

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Synopsis

Scored for eight instruments (but can be performed with one piano) this play is a musical spoof of the whodunnit genre which takes a strong satirical poke at Agatha Christie murder mysteries as well as at many musical styles of past years. Ten people are stranded in an isolated English country estate during a raging thunderstorm. One by one they are picked off by cleverly fiendish devices. The bodies begin to pile up in the library as the survivors frantically race to discover the identity and motivation of the cunning culprit. 

An engaging, funny, refreshing and original musical." New York Post 

The Cast :

Casting for the play is six men and four women 

• Lettie - "The saucy maid" (Cockney) (lured into giant vase and gets eaten by a serpent)- Alto
• Flint - "The caretaker" (Cockney) (killed in accidental gas explosion)- Tenor
• Clive - "The butler" (death by exploding balustrade)- Bass
• Hope Langdon - "The Ingenue" (drinks poisoned wine intended for Flint)- Soprano
• Dr. Grayburn - "The family doctor" (asphyxiated by gas concealed in telephone)- Tenor
• Nigel Rancour - "The black sheep nephew" (coshed in the bonce by a sconce)- Tenor
• Lady Grace Manley-Prowde - "The Grande Dame" (electrocuted by light switch)- Alto
• Colonel Gillweather - "The old army man" (poisoned by blowgun dart; lives long enough to analyze the poison)- Bass
• Miss Tweed - "The tweedy, elderly amateur detective" (strangled by ornamental spear)- Soprano
• Geoffrey - "The juvenile; the uninvited guest" (drinks poisoned wine intended for Flint)- Tenor
  

Orchestration

Trombone, Banjo, Trumpet, Bass, Reed 1, Reed 2, Percussion 1 and 2, but may be done with one piano

Chorus books on hire only 

Musical Numbers:

1. A Marvellous Weekend - Company except Geoffrey
2. Something's Afoot - Company except Geoffrey
3. Carry On - Miss Tweed, Lady Grace, Lettie, Hope Langdon
4. I Don't Know Why I Trust You But I Do - Hope Langdon, Geoffrey
5. The Man With the Ginger Moustache - Lady Grace
6. Suspicious - Entire Company
7. Legal Heir - Nigel Rancour
8. You Fell Out Of the Sky - Hope Langdon
9. Dinghy - Flint, Lettie
10. I Owe It All - Miss Tweed, Hope Langdon, Geoffrey
11. New Day - Geoffry, Hope Langdon, Choir

Scenes & Settings

The action takes place during the late spring of 1935 at Rancour's Retreat, a country estate in the English Lake District.

• Act 1: The Entrance Hall of Rancour's Retreat
• Act 2: The same, immediately following