Whodunnit (play)
Encyclopedia
Whodunnit? is the title of a play written by Anthony Shaffer in 1977, originally called The Case Of The Oily Levantine.
/ mystery
play. The first act follows the traditional conventions of a country house mystery with an assortment of suspects, but in the second act nobody is truly what they seem.
s apparently drawn directly from old English detective fiction
arrive for a party in an old country house. Among them there is an old Navy
man, a ditzy woman, and a flamboyantly eccentric
butler who keeps trying to serve up his own cocktail creation, the "Zombie Whammy". There is also Andreas Capodistriou, a smooth talking serpent of a man who demonstrates to each guest in turn that he knows something compromising about them and is intent on blackmailing each one.
The act climaxes
as each guest, having a reason to want Capodistriou dead, conceals his or her self on the set to lie in wait for the victim, who arrives alone and kneels to perform his evening prayer. As he does so, a collection of sword-wielding hands appear around him. One blade falls, removing his head, and the curtain falls.
, and was hired to participate in a role-playing
party for the house's owner, who would act as detective
and solve the mystery. It transpires that all of the "guests", and the butler, are also hired actors. The entire affair has been orchestrated in order to murder
the man who played "Capodistriou". This in turn is revealed to be Gerry Marshall, a theatrical agent who held the contracts of all the actors except the one playing the host, with whom he had a different relationship. Each actor hated Marshall, but all deny knowing it was him playing Capodistriou. The organizer of the party was apparently Marshall himself. It is up to Inspector Bowden to unravel the tangle of relationships, real and unreal, to unmask the killer.
production of Whodunnit? began previews at the Biltmore Theatre
on December 14, 1982. After 19 previews, it opened on December 30, 1982. It closed on May 15, 1983 after 157 performances.
The production credits for opening night were as follows:
The Opening Night Cast was as follows:
Plot summary
Whodunnit? is a comedyComedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
/ mystery
Mystery fiction
Mystery fiction is a loosely-defined term.1.It is often used as a synonym for detective fiction or crime fiction— in other words a novel or short story in which a detective investigates and solves a crime mystery. Sometimes mystery books are nonfiction...
play. The first act follows the traditional conventions of a country house mystery with an assortment of suspects, but in the second act nobody is truly what they seem.
Act 1
A collection of characterCharacter (arts)
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
s apparently drawn directly from old English detective fiction
Fiction
Fiction is the form of any narrative or informative work that deals, in part or in whole, with information or events that are not factual, but rather, imaginary—that is, invented by the author. Although fiction describes a major branch of literary work, it may also refer to theatrical,...
arrive for a party in an old country house. Among them there is an old Navy
Navy
A navy is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake- or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions...
man, a ditzy woman, and a flamboyantly eccentric
Eccentricity (behavior)
In popular usage, eccentricity refers to unusual or odd behavior on the part of an individual. This behavior would typically be perceived as unusual or unnecessary, without being demonstrably maladaptive...
butler who keeps trying to serve up his own cocktail creation, the "Zombie Whammy". There is also Andreas Capodistriou, a smooth talking serpent of a man who demonstrates to each guest in turn that he knows something compromising about them and is intent on blackmailing each one.
The act climaxes
Climax (narrative)
The Climax is the point in the story where the main character's point of view changes, or the most exciting/action filled part of the story. It also known has the main turning point in the story...
as each guest, having a reason to want Capodistriou dead, conceals his or her self on the set to lie in wait for the victim, who arrives alone and kneels to perform his evening prayer. As he does so, a collection of sword-wielding hands appear around him. One blade falls, removing his head, and the curtain falls.
Act 2
The act opens on an incongruous scene. Policemen in modern dress mingle with the archaically dressed guests. They are investigating the murder that ended the first act. The old Navy man sneezes and loses his fake mustache in the process. He reveals that he is actually an actorActor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
, and was hired to participate in a role-playing
Role-playing
Role-playing refers to the changing of one's behaviour to assume a role, either unconsciously to fill a social role, or consciously to act out an adopted role...
party for the house's owner, who would act as detective
Detective
A detective is an investigator, either a member of a police agency or a private person. The latter may be known as private investigators or "private eyes"...
and solve the mystery. It transpires that all of the "guests", and the butler, are also hired actors. The entire affair has been orchestrated in order to murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
the man who played "Capodistriou". This in turn is revealed to be Gerry Marshall, a theatrical agent who held the contracts of all the actors except the one playing the host, with whom he had a different relationship. Each actor hated Marshall, but all deny knowing it was him playing Capodistriou. The organizer of the party was apparently Marshall himself. It is up to Inspector Bowden to unravel the tangle of relationships, real and unreal, to unmask the killer.
Cast of Characters http://www.ibdb.com/production.php?id=4201
- Dame Edith Runcible, an eccentricEccentricity (behavior)In popular usage, eccentricity refers to unusual or odd behavior on the part of an individual. This behavior would typically be perceived as unusual or unnecessary, without being demonstrably maladaptive...
archaeologist - Lady Tremurrain, a dotty aristocratAristocracy (class)The aristocracy are people considered to be in the highest social class in a society which has or once had a political system of Aristocracy. Aristocrats possess hereditary titles granted by a monarch, which once granted them feudal or legal privileges, or deriving, as in Ancient Greece and India,...
- Archibald Perkins, the butlerButlerA butler is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantry. Some also have charge of the entire parlour floor, and housekeepers caring for the entire house and its...
- Silas Bazeby, a respectable family lawyerLawyerA lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
- Rear-Admiral Knatchbull Folliatt, an old sea dog
- Roger Dashwell, a black sheep
- Inspector Bowden, an unconventional Scotland YardScotland YardScotland Yard is a metonym for the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Service of London, UK. It derives from the location of the original Metropolitan Police headquarters at 4 Whitehall Place, which had a rear entrance on a street called Great Scotland Yard. The Scotland Yard entrance became...
detective - Andreas Capodistriou, an oily LevantLevantThe Levant or ) is the geographic region and culture zone of the "eastern Mediterranean littoral between Anatolia and Egypt" . The Levant includes most of modern Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel, the Palestinian territories, and sometimes parts of Turkey and Iraq, and corresponds roughly to the...
ine - Sergeant, a stolid copper
- Lavinia Hargreaves, a sweet young thing
Broadway Production http://www.ibdb.com/production.php?id=4201
The BroadwayBroadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
production of Whodunnit? began previews at the Biltmore Theatre
Biltmore Theatre
The Samuel J. Friedman Theatre is a legitimate Broadway theatre located at 261 West 47th Street in midtown-Manhattan.-History:...
on December 14, 1982. After 19 previews, it opened on December 30, 1982. It closed on May 15, 1983 after 157 performances.
The production credits for opening night were as follows:
- Director: Michael KahnMichael Kahn (theatre director)Michael Kahn is the Artistic Director of the Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington, D.C., USA. He held the position of Richard Rodgers Director of the Drama Division of the Juilliard School from 1992 to 2006....
- Costume Designer: Patricia ZipprodtPatricia ZipprodtPatricia Zipprodt was an American costume designer. She was known for her technique of painting fabrics and thoroughly researching a project's subject matter, especially when it was a period piece...
- Scenic Designer: Andrew Jackness
- Lighting Designer: Martin Acronstein
- Sound Designer: Richard Fitzgerald
- Hair/Make-Up Designer: Patrik D. Moreton
- Producers: Douglas UrbanskiDouglas UrbanskiDouglas Urbanski is an American theater impresario, raconteur and film producer.Urbanski is a business partner with actor Gary Oldman and he also runs a talent management firm, DMG...
, Robert A. Buckley and E. Gregg Wallace, Jr.
The Opening Night Cast was as follows:
- Dame Edith Runcible - Hermione BaddeleyHermione BaddeleyHermione Baddeley was an English character actress of theatre, film and television. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Room at the Top and a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play for The Milk Train Doesn't Stop Here...
- Lady Tremurrain - Barbara BaxleyBarbara BaxleyBarbara Baxley was an American actress of stage, film and television.-Early life:Baxley was born in Porterville, California, the daughter of Emma and Bert Baxley.-Career:...
- Archibald Perkins - Gordon ChaterGordon ChaterGordon Chater was a comedian and actor.Chater attended Cambridge University to study to become a doctor but did not finish his degree. While at Cambridge he took part in many student revues.He arrived in Australia following World War II...
- Silas Bazeby - Jerome Dempsey
- Rear-Admiral Knatchbull Folliatt - Ronald Drake
- Roger Dashwell - John GloverJohn Glover (actor)John Soursby Glover Jr. is an American actor, perhaps best known for a range of villainous roles in films and television, including Lionel Luthor on the Superman-inspired television series Smallville.-Personal life:...
- Inspector Bowden - Fred GwynneFred GwynneFrederick Hubbard "Fred" Gwynne was an American actor. Gwynne was best known for his roles in the 1960s sitcoms Car 54, Where Are You? and The Munsters, as well as his later roles: Pet Sematary and My Cousin Vinny...
- Andreas Capodistriou - George HearnGeorge HearnGeorge Hearn is an American actor and singer, primarily in Broadway musical theatre.-Early years:Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Hearn studied philosophy at Southwestern at Memphis, now Rhodes College before he embarked on a career in the theater, training for the stage with actress turned acting...
- Sergeant - Jeffrey Alan Chandler
- Lavinia Hargreaves - Lauren Thompson
External links
- History on Anthony Shaffer's website.