The Lady Cries Murder
by John William See

Name: The Lady Cries Murder
Brand: John William See
SKU: 9780573619120
Rating: 3 (1 reviews)

The Lady Cries Murder Book Cover — The Lady Cries Murder Cover

Highlights

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Large Cast

Female

Male

1930sReduced Casting (Doubling Possible)Unit Set/Multiple SettingsPeriod CostumesAmerican Comedy

Synopsis

Set in 1938, The Lady Cries Murder is a classic detective tale of the period, cram-packed with twists.

See's plot plays on three levels: First, there is radio scripter, Sartone, who has developed a popular detective series; second, there are the actors playing the characters in his scripts; and, finally, there are characters who think they are real.

Press Reviews

"It is 1938. A successful radio producer has purchased a detective story from a writer named Raymond Chandler. Chandler is incensed that the producer is rewriting and distorting the story but seems powerless to do anything. With that as a background, the playwright segues into one of the slickest, smartest, funniest spoofs of the hard boiled detective genre ever to hit the boards."
— Los Angeles Weekly

"One of the more successful spoofs of the hard boiled private eye yarns of the 30s."
— Los Angeles Magazine

Characters

Character	Gender	Age	Description
Angel La Tour his tough, sincere, harboiled secretary	male	—	his tough, sincere, harboiled secretary
Miles Swordfish Diamond's deceased partner	—	—	Diamond's deceased partner
Marsha Shorthand a red herring dressed in green	—	—	a red herring dressed in green
Emma Shorthand a rich dowager	—	—	a rich dowager
Wadsworth her butler	female	—	her butler
Shanghai Sue a luxurious Asian woman	female	—	a luxurious Asian woman
Ernie Bone a piece of muscle	—	—	a piece of muscle
Raoul Jamaica a dangerous lady's man	female	—	a dangerous lady's man
Lieutenant Grog a tough cop	—	—	a tough cop
Sergeant Dunk a tough cop's partner	—	—	a tough cop's partner
Jasper Grunt a corporate bloodsucker	—	—	a corporate bloodsucker
Charles Sartone a famous novelist	—	—	a famous novelist
Delores Sartone Charles' batty wife	female	—	Charles' batty wife
Ian Lataby Charles' chauffeur	—	—	Charles' chauffeur
William Kreskin a concerned lawyer	—	—	a concerned lawyer
Miriam Brooks Charles' secretary	—	—	Charles' secretary
Raymond Chandler a writer of wrongsThe following combinations are suggested for double casting:	—	—	a writer of wrongsThe following combinations are suggested for double casting:
Philip Diamond a tough, sincere, hardboiled detective	—	—	a tough, sincere, hardboiled detective