Rehearsal for Murder
Adapted for the stage by D.D. Brooke. From the television play by Richard Levinson and William Link.
Product Code: R36000
Full-length Play
Melodrama
Cast size: 9m., 6w.
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Synopsis
This is a thrilling "theatrical" mystery in which your theatre becomes the set for the play. The playwright turns on the stage work light and prepares for the first reading of his new play. The actors, producer, director and others connected with the show come onto the stage, and under their humorous (and utterly real) theatrical talk, tension grows. We discover that everyone connected with this play was involved with another play by the same playwright. At its opening night, exactly a year ago and in this same theatre, the beautiful leading lady, who was also the playwright's fiancee, was murdered! As these people start with the new play, startling connections to the murder begin to unfold. The growing tension reaches the boiling point with surprising revelations, countered by others even more surprising. The dazzling, yet basically logical twists build to a climax and solution that are theatrically stunning! The authors of this thriller have all had direct Broadway experience, and their dialogue has a special sting of wit and reality. For the best mystery in years, post a notice on your theatre callboard, "Rehearsal for Murder."
Details
- Status In stock
- Type of Show Full-length Play
- Product Code R36000
- Minimum Cast Size 15
- Pages of Dialogue 76
- Min. Royalty Rate $110.00/perf
- Approx. Run Time 90 min
- Staging One simple set.
Categories
- Target Audience Middle School | High School | College and Adult | Family (all ages)
- Performing Group Middle School | High School | College Theatre | Community Theatre | Professional Theatre | Touring Group
- Genre Melodrama
- ISBN(13) 9780871292797
Customer Reviews
This was a very entertaining thriller that left the audiences guessing until the very last minute! We loved it.
A fun and fun-to-watch mystery that is very easy to stage and costume. You need a strong male lead who is able to learn a lot of lines. Our cast did a wonderful job and kept the audience's attention. NO ONE knew until the end who done it!
Fabulous! Captivated the audience. The student audience was really looking forward to finding out who did it!
The growing tension reaches the boiling point with surprising revelations countered by others even more surprising ... to build to a climax highly theatrically stunning.
Fantastic "who-dunnit"! It does just as it describes. "You take the audience by the hand and lead them in the wrong direction. They trust you and you betray them." (Alex, page 36)
A mystery that takes you by the hand and leads you down a path with a wonderful surprise ending.
An excellent character piece that challenged the actors and thrilled the audience. The fact that we didn't have to build an elaborate set allowed us to focus on the acting and the rhythms of the show. Also, the sound effects CD that was available was great.
Hints, Tips, and Tricks
The lack of traditional sets make it economical to produce; it does, however, need some sophisticated lighting to really come off. The recorded sound effects from DPC were a godsend, especially since it was not feasible to live fire a starter pistol on stage.
Less is best—the less you use on the stage and the more "suggestive" areas is best. Emphasize the use of lighting as opposed to set pieces.
We put Monica's study on a moving truck so it rolled forward into our party scene.
Production Map
| Location | City | State | Opens | Closes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stilwell High School | Stilwell | OK | 03/28/2025 | 03/29/2025 |
| Joyce Stone | Independence | MO | 05/02/2025 | 05/11/2025 |
| Clio Cast and Crew | Clio | MI | 10/17/2025 | 10/26/2025 |
| Williamsburg Players | Williamsburg | VA | 10/31/2025 | 11/16/2025 |
Downloads
| File Description | File Format | |
|---|---|---|
| Performance Poster | Download |
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Gallery
Rehearsal for Murder - Wieting Theatre, Toledo, IA
Also By These Authors
James Loranger, Paramus Catholic High School, Paramus, N.J.