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  • 1.  Most successful, fun mystery ever done for middle/high school

    Posted 05-19-2021 19:56
    I'm looking for a mystery play for middle and high school students with a simple set and good characters. I'd love all your suggestions!
    Jill P
    Director of Encore! Productions 
    Theatre Academy of the Hershey Area Playhouse

    Virus-free. www.avast.com


  • 2.  RE: Most successful, fun mystery ever done for middle/high school

    Posted 05-20-2021 06:45
    I like Farndale Avenue Housing Estate Townswomen's Guild Dramatic Society Murder Mystery
    It is a female heavy cast but is fun and the scenery can be cardboard should you wish

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    Jerry Onik
    V.P. Theatrical Supplies and Equipment
    Heartland Scenic Studio
    Omaha NE
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    Original Message


  • 3.  RE: Most successful, fun mystery ever done for middle/high school

    Posted 05-20-2021 08:28
    I directed THE MUSICAL COMEDY MURDERS OF 1940 w/ middle school actors and we had a blast. Fun show with lots of plot twists. We had a pretty elaborate set with pivoting bookcases, etc. but it could be done with less. NIGHT WATCH has always been on my list, too. That is literally my two cents!
    Good luck!
    GT

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    Garry Tiller
    Theatre Arts Teaching Artist
    Sidwell Friends
    Washington, DC
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    Original Message


  • 4.  RE: Most successful, fun mystery ever done for middle/high school

    Posted 05-20-2021 09:05
    We did Murder Me, Always by Lee Mueller a few years back and it was so much fun! The kids took their characters and made them over the top. The play is also written with a question and answer part and the audience gets to vote on who they think the killer is which adds a fun element

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    Lisa Singleterry
    Drama Director
    Portland Christian High School
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    Original Message


  • 5.  RE: Most successful, fun mystery ever done for middle/high school

    Posted 05-21-2021 08:11
    We loved Ax of Murder.  It's about a group putting on a play that is supposedly haunted.  You do need one very strong male lead.  Simple set, ala an empty stage.  I used some random set pieces, a costume rack, etc. to give the appearance of a "theater".  Very, very funny.

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    Amber Hugus
    Seneca Valley High School
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    Original Message


  • 6.  RE: Most successful, fun mystery ever done for middle/high school

    Posted 05-21-2021 10:23
    Usher: A Totally Teen Comedy. We did this a few years ago and it still gets talked about. Plenty of characters.

    The works of Edgar Allan Poe are bone-chilling, dark, depressing - nevermore, quoth the raven!  This skillful adaptation takes a grand mix of Poe's writing and characters and weaves them together into a teen-savvy comedy loosely based on "The Fall of the House of Usher" but with more laughs and a much brighter ending. 

    After the bus breaks down on a dark and stormy night, a bunch of high school students on a field trip are forced to spend the night in the spooky house of Usher.  But they're not alone!  The spirits of Usher ancestors haunt the halls, cursed to stay trapped in the house forever, unless someone helps the last surviving Usher find the will to truly live life.  Along with a healthy dose of entertaining teen drama, Ushertouches on some weighty issues that haunt the nightmares of most teens - isolation, loneliness, suicide, and peer pressure. 

    But lighten up, it's a comedy after all!  With characters drawn from classics such as "The Cask of Amontillado," "The Tell Tale Heart," "Annabel Lee," and some lesser-known works, there are countless winks, nudges, and nods to the Master of Horror.  The House of Usher doesn't fall at the end in this show, but Usher will bring down yours!

    https://www.pioneerdrama.com/SearchDetail.asp?pc=USHER&id=0

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    Allan Meads
    Drama Director
    Springfield Township Middle School
    Oreland PA
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    Original Message


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