Starting the Summer by Playing Dead (upcoming productions)

Roswell Community Little Theatre will be presenting "Last Call At Chez Mort" June 22 at ‘The Liberty’ on North Virginia in Roswell, New Mexico.

This production will be directed by by Edie Stevens is an RCLT dinner theatre fundraiser. Reservations must be made no later than June 8 by calling 575-622-1982.

And Freedom Area Community Theatre (F.A.C.T) in Freedom Wisconsin will be presenting the world premier of "Home Room of Doom"! Home Room is my first official "non-murder mystery". The plot centers around a high school classroom, during Home Room (which is that very short period of the school morning where attendance is attended to and announcements are announced etc.. ) anyway, on this particular day, things begin to... well here, let me print the announcement if everyone is their seat:

Strange things are happening in Mrs. Abernathy's High school home room. More than half of her students are absent or late and there's strange chanting sounds coming from the hallway. Student Council President Heather Graves maintains the chants are coming from the creepy janitor Mr Crowley. Heavy metal Doom Core expert Scott insists the chants are are actually spells that will unleash an ancient Carpathian Curse upon the school. Cody believes the Zombie Apocalypse is about to begin. And Kelsey thinks everyone is overreacting to what is just a flu outbreak or senior prank. But what about those bizarre zombie-like students appearing in the doorway? Who wants to leave the safety of home room and find out?

F.A.C.T will present the premier of this "horror/zombie/comedy" on August 1st and 2nd at 7pm

Mothers Day and a Road Less Discouraged

When I look back on the path I have followed, I must acknowledge that my mother had a strong influence on the directions (Mom GPS). A road less discouraged.

She told me a story about my propensity to entertain at an early age, it seems she was feeling rather ill one day and decided to rest. She apparently advised me to remain clear of her resting area in case what she had was contagious such as the flu or some other nasty airborne virus. According to her story, I obeyed by sitting the hallway next to the bedroom which was ideal. I stayed clear, but apparently I didn't stay quiet. I decided to entertain her by spinning yarns and tales off the top of head, which according to her, lasted for an hour straight.

Now at any point she could have told me to be quiet or please shut up or any other number of silencing techniques but she didn't. She let me ramble. And from that day forward, that has been pretty much the case. That is not to say, there weren't times she would tell me to turn it down a few clicks, but still, the fact that she more or less allowed me to explore my imagination and let it take voice. I am forever grateful.

My mother has always been my most captive audience and critic. In my High School years, she didn't wince when I told her I was interested in the performing arts, in fact she encouraged me. At the same time I witnessed other parents of my peers pooh pooh the same dream: "You want to act? Write? Paint? Be a Musician?! What are you, out of your mind? Have you fell on your head? Learn a trade for crying out loud! Put away childish things!"

My mother also encouraged me to read books at a very early age, I think it was a way to keep me quiet for a few hours as well as allow her to escape for a time. I always recall a paperback in her hand, wherever we went so out of curiosity and of course encouragement, I was introduced to the Hardy Boys crime novels. The Hardy lads were way more interesting than the See Sally Run, Run Sally Run garbage I had at school.

When I began writing my own stories and later plays, I could always go to my mom and discuss a plot point or solicit ideas from her. "Hey Mom, I'm stuck at this spot. I'm not sure where to go from here." She would look it over and point out the most obvious path. "What if the character in the second act implicated himself. Or what if all the characters had the same occupation?" Mom's advice could always move the blocks out of the way.

To this day, my mother's advice and encouragement still leads me forward, down this same path. Never discouraged one step of the way. I can't thank her enough but I will try just a little this mother's day. She lives in a different state now, so I can't swing by on days she doesn't feel well and entertain her with stories. She finally gets to rest in absolute entertainment free quiet. But I'm sure she peeks out in the hallway every once in awhile.

Upcoming Play Dead Productions

The Winters Theatre Company in Winters California will present “An Audition for Murder” on Friday, May 17, Saturday, May 18, and Sunday, May 19. “An Audition for Murder,” a comic parody of both “who-dun-it” murder mysteries and amateur theater play auditions.

The plot of “An Audition for Murder” deals with an acting company which is holding auditions for its forth coming production of “Death of a Disco Dancer.” As the hopeful actors read for roles in the play, one of their members is suddenly found dead under suspicious circumstances. Is the death caused by medical problems or is it a homicide?
Does the curse of Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” haunt the premises? An intrepid police inspector must deal with these questions and also with ham actors, dim witted divas, stage mothers, loud mouthed liberals and theater majors – all of whom have inflated egos. The laughs come even faster than the clues as the plot unfolds.

Doors will open at 6:30 on Friday and Saturday nights, with the dinner at 7:00 and the play at 8:00. The Sunday performance is an earlier evening presentation with doors open at 5:30 pm, dinner at 6:00 and the play at 7:00.

Upcoming Play-Dead Murder Mystery Plays

My friends out in California, Vacaville Gaslighters are presenting one of my older favorite scripts called "Dead Air" which at the time I wrote the play was a homage to the AM radio stations I heard around the St. Louis area. The type of station that was frozen in another decade. Not necessarily an "oldies" station, no I'm referring to a station whose heyday had blinked from relevance a long time ago but due to just enough market share, still plugs along. The music selection bordered on elevator music and the call-in-talk-show segments were nothing more than complaint rants from lonely grumpy people looking for cathartic relief.
"Dead Air" visits one such station on a live anniversary broadcast where the host has a melt down and the Bunny Bagel Boy is poisoned.
"Dead Air" runs the weekend of February 22-24 and March 1-3.

I'm not sure if they have such radio stations over in India, but they will have a production of Murder Me Always
by Caricatture productions in Chennai, Tamil Nadu at the Music Academy Mini Hall on March 3rd at 3;30pm and 7:30pm This will be the 2nd time this play has played in India. Must be good Karma.

"Murder Me Always"- still slaying after all of these years

Hard to believe that my play "Murder Me Always" is 18 years old now. It has come a long way since it poured out onto the page from my imagination. It's old enough to vote now. They grow up so fast.

Kearney Community Theatre in Kearney Nebraska, will present "Murder Me Always" in their 2013 Benefit Gala on Saturday, January 26, 2013 at 8:00PM - location is 83 Plaza Boulevard, Kearney, Nebraska.
Doors will open at 7:00 PM for hors d’oeuvres and refreshments. Pre-show and intermission music provided by Thalken, Tesdall and Thalken.

Theatre League of Clifton will also present “Murder Me Always” as their Fifth Annual Murder Mystery dinner theater at Mario’s Restaurant in Clifton, NJ on March 1, 2, 3, 8, 9, and 10, Friday & Saturday at 8PM and Sunday at 4PM.
Clifton Theatre's annual dinner theater helps to support TLC’s ongoing mission to bring the performing arts to the greater Clifton community.

Directed by Geoffrey Waumans. Produced by Maryann Irizarry. Stage Manager is Tara Freifeld. Sound by Nick Hawrylko. The cast is drawn from a diverse selection of northern NJ cities including Brenda Sherman of Bergenfield, Kurt Irizarry, George Kuch and Victoria Waumans of Clifton, Joe Romano of Glen Ridge, Craig Woodward and Kirk Woodward of Little Falls, Paul Carrazzone of Mahwah, Kimberley Merlo of Rochelle Park, Rich Torres of Union City, and Danielle Petrucelli of West Orange.
Tickets are $40 and include a 3 course dinner of Salad, Pasta, Sea Bass, Chicken, Potato, Vegetable, Dessert, soda, tea and coffee. A cash bar is also available.


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A Year of Playing Dead 2012

A look back on a handful of productions of Play Dead comedy mysteries presented across the globe.

The year started off with the premier of my new play called "Last Call At Chez Mort" by my home group Affton Center Stage.

Set in the 1940's at European style Supper Club "Chez Mort". It recounts the tale of an unusual crime in the Swing Era time.

Later the same year, "Last Call At Chez Mort" was produced by my old friends at FACT Players in Freedom, Wisconsin. / Vacaville Gaslighters in Vacaville, California and then it traveled way down south to the Hotel Magnolia, Casco Viejo, Panama city, Panama.

The Panama production was directed by Gerry Roy, who at one time owned his own theatre in Montreal and has acted and directed professionally and took on the role of the nervous french master of ceremony, Jeal-Paul Truffaut. The production also featured the wonderful acting/singing talents of Claritza Basabe-Corvaia.

"Murder Me Always" once again made the rounds this year,(which was my first penned and most popular comedy murder mystery) - it kicked off March of 2012 by the Thunderbolt Players, a troupe of student actors at Evansville’s New Tech Institute.

In July of 2012 -

"Murder Me Always" was given the Bollywood treatment by director Mala Pasha and her group Torn Curtains. It was showcased in several location in and around Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India. Director Mala Pasha is one of the founding members of the Torn Curtains over in India, and Torn Curtains one of the oldest English speaking theatre groups in Hyperabad.

"Murder Me Always" also made a trip up to Canada in November to Carlton Place Ontario and was presented by the Mississippi MUDDS in the Town Hall of Carlton Place in partnership with Ballygiblin's restaurant.

Saltshaker Theatre took "Murder Me Always" on a tour in October to various restaurants around Carmel and Salinas California giving dinners some laughs and mystery along with their entrees.

Speaking of dinner and murder,

Marin Murder Mysteries hosted the comedy "Remains To Be Seen" in the Spring of 2012 at San Rafael Joe's over a 5 course dinner. The production was directed by Adrianne Goff who also appeared as the lovely and talentless character "Edie Buffet".

"Remains To Be Seen" also made another stop in California, in November at River Valley High School Drama in Yuba City.

Closer to home, (my home I should say, well.. O.K. about 2 hours away) down into the magnificent Ozark mountain region of southern Missouri to Camdenton High School for a production of "I'm Getting Murdered In The Morning" in March. I had a chance to visit the school and the production. It's always a treat for me to see the production and meet the actors, of course, it's not always a treat for the actors to know I am in the audience. If they don't all ready have performance jitters, knowing the playwright is in the crowd can send some over the edge.
"Getting Murdered In The Morning" was also produced by Rural Area Theater in Madison, Florida in June. I did not give the actors a double case of nerves by visiting this production, so I made up for it when my home town of Wentzville Missouri staged a production of "Some Show (about a murder") in November, and yes I did go to this one. I'm not so certain I caused the actors much grief, if I did, they exacted revenge by seating me at a table 1 foot from the stage. They also announced to the public who I was and where I was sitting. If they didn't enjoy the play, well, here was the person responsible for writing it.

"Death Of A Doornail", another one of my popular scripts also made the rounds. In October and November it appeared in Dalton Georgia by Dalton Little Theatre.
And earlier in August, "Death of a Doornail" made an appearance at Murdoch Theatre Company in Perth, Western Australia.

Playwright Toby Otero who came on board play-dead this year had his script The Science Of Murder produced in November and December by Mission: Improv in East Wenatchee, Washington as well as a premier in hometown of West Monroe, Louisiana. His new play called "MURD-ARRR!!!" - a pirate play will be here in 2013!

Again this was just a handful of productions, there were many many more productions all over the place. It's incredible to look back and see where all these plays have played. Pieces of my imagination, put down on paper and then go out into the world to be given life by talented actors all over the world. I am grateful to all of them.

For the new year I am developing a new murder mystery set in the 1890's, a western themed comedy called "Murder In Meridosa", that will take the stage in March. Where will it end up in the coming year? Here's to all your imaginations, works, words,music,visions,crafts and stories. May they travel far for you.

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'Remains to be Seen' at River Valley High In Yuba City, CA

River Valley High School Drama presents "Remains to be Seen," written by Lee Mueller and directed by Dave Harris, Friday through Sunday at the River Valley High School multipurpose room.

The interactive comedic murder-mystery show includes dessert for the audience, which will be served during intermission.

"We decided to do a dessert show for our winter play this year because it was something new, and also have an interactive type of show where the audience actually can interact with the characters. It's something we've never done before, so we thought that would be a fun thing to do," Harris said.

At a certain point in the whodunit play, Harris said, "audience members are allowed to ask questions of the 'suspects' to help them guess who did it."

"The question-and-answer portion will definitely involve some improvisation because the actors don't know what questions they're going to get," Harris said, adding that these students are members of his advanced drama class. "So they've got to answer the questions as best they can in character."

Several of the beginning drama students will be the ones serving desserts to the tables, Harris said.

"'Remains to be Seen' starts off with a body being found in a steamer trunk left on a rental truck of a U-Haul type of truck rental company," Harris said. "As the investigators get called in, they trace where this trunk has been and who has been in contact with this truck to try to piece together exactly what happened."

Harris said the investigation moves from place to place as police Officers Goodman (Michael Ramirez) and Badham (Kiran Sahota) interview the wide range of characters who have recently been in contact with the rental truck, including a lackluster nightclub singer, Edie (Tiffany Calabrese), and her protégé, Nick (Andrew Tinajero); a washed-up actress, Madame DuBoys (Natasha Lauria), who has dreams of a big comeback, and her assistant, Noelle (Simran Mahil); seedy bar owners Iggy (Saidy Iraiqat) and Trixie (Raelynn Mortensen); and several truck rental company proprietors (Logan Brooks, Shawna Flack, Tyler Hight and Bill Williams).

FBI Agents Sullen (Alejandra Cervantes) and Muledeer (Geanum Sarki) also join in the investigation. The cast includes Journey Granados, Franklin Hart and Alex Samay.

"There are lots of pop cultural references throughout the show: TV, movies, music that get thrown in there and are fun things that the audience can pick up on," Harris said.

He added that although the play is contemporary, it isn't set in a particular time. "A lot of the things that are thrown into the script are from the last 40 years or so. We have props that encompass the last few decades, but the play is very nebulous for exactly when it is set because of the references that are made. Some of the props you will see are sort of older, such as a rotary-dial phone," Harris said.

"It will be a highly entertaining evening. You can come watch a funny play and high school students having fun on stage being some interesting characters — and as an extra bonus, it's going to come with a nice dessert. Come as you are," he said.

"The play is a lot of fun, and when the students first read it, they really liked it."

CONTACT Susan Benitez at sbenitez@appealdemocrat.com or 749-4773

Read more: http://www.appeal-democrat.com/articles/harris-121091-truck-remains.html#ixzz2CKrHF7Z7

Murder Mystery Comedy in Dalton Georgia

“Death of a Doornail” will perform on the Dalton Little Theatre stage this Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. Performances will continue Oct. 26-27 and Nov. 2 at 7 p.m. There will be a Sunday matinee Oct. 28 at 2 p.m. For more information visit www.daltonlittletheatre.com

“Death of a Doornail,” a murder mystery/comedy written by Lee Mueller, will be presented on the stage at the Dalton Little Theatre beginning this weekend.

Susan Ridley directs this whodunit with a zany cast of characters and describes the play as her “notion of film noir meets the Carol Burnette Show.”

“It’s high comedy,” says Ridley, “and audience members will have an opportunity to join in questioning the cast in Act II. Further, they get to vote on their choice of the murderer and one of those ballots will be chosen for a prize at each show.”

“It’s a success if it makes you laugh, cry and think ... This show might make you cry from laughing so much — it’s pure entertainment, although you will ‘think’ if you try to solve the mystery as the plot unfolds.” She adds, “At the show’s end I hope our audiences have been entertained and have left the real world behind for a couple of hours — we all need an escape to laughter!”

Upcoming Productions -"Murder Me Always" in Carmel and Salinas

Saltshaker Theater has announced it will perform its newest comedy/mystery dinner theater production, "Murder Me Always,” at various venues in Salinas and Carmel California, starting Saturday. Written by comedian/actor Lee Mueller and directed by Ken Cusson, “Murder Me Always” features a handful of potential culprits (and local actors) in a unique, humorous play-within-a-play format. Make reservations to attend by calling each venue. Reservations are required. Here is the schedule:

• Sunday: All Saints Episcopal Church, Carmel-By-The-Sea. Reservations: 831-384-6323.

• Oct. 24: Gino’s Italian Restaurant, Salinas. Reservations: 831-422-1814.

• Oct. 25 and 26: The Penny Farthing Tavern, Salinas. Reservations: 831-422-5652.

• Oct. 29: Element Tasting Bar & Bistro, Salinas. Reservations: 831- 998-7045.

• Oct. 30: The Grower’s Pub Steakhouse, Salinas. Reservations: 831-754-1488.

• Nov. 1: Rotary Club of Carmel Valley, at Rancho Cañada, Carmel Valley. Reservations: Ryan McCormick (Rotary), 831-233-2628.

Play-dead Comedy Mysteries playing way up North and way down south

Up North

Just west of Ottawa Ontario (up North in Canada) is Carlton Place. And in Carlton place dwells the wonderful Mississippi Mudds or (M.U.D.D.S) which breaks down as MUsic Dance and Drama on Stage. The Mudds are a community theatre group in Carlton Place since 1974.
I am honored to have the M.U.D.D.S. perform another one of my plays, Murder Me Always. It will unfold it's mystery comedy stylings in the Town Hall of Carlton Place in partnership with Ballygiblin's restaurant on Nov. 2 and 3. Here is their Link

Down South

At the Hotel Magnolia, Casco Viejo, Panama city, Panama a theatre troupe will be performing my newest work Last Call At Chez Mort - a 1940's style screwball murder mystery. It will be performed in English. (Although I would be curious to hear it done in Spanish. Comprende?)
The show will be directed by Gerry Roy, who at one time owned his own theatre in Montreal and has acted and directed professionally The producer is Lourdes Quijada.Each of the three evening performances, running from September 17-19 will offer a different menu.