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Something's Afoot

Something's Afoot is a murder mystery musical that spoofs detective stories, mainly the works of Agatha Christie, and especially her detective novel And Then There Were None (aka Ten Little Indians). The book, music, and lyrics were written by James McDonald, David Vos, and Robert Gerlach, with additional music by Ed Linderman. The play involves a group of people who are invited to the lake estate of Lord Dudley Rancour. When the wealthy lord is found dead, its a race against the clock to find out whodunnit.

Something's Afoot enjoyed a very brief run on Broadway, but has since become somewhat of an obscure production, produced mainly by community college and high school drama departments.

Production history

Something's Afoot opened on Broadway at the Lyceum Theatre on May 27, 1976 and closed on July 18, 1976 after 61 performances and 13 previews. Directed and choreographed by Tony Tanner, the cast included Tessie O'Shea (Miss Tweed) and Gary Beach (Nigel).

In 1984, the play was recorded and presented on cable television (Showtime), and starred Jean Stapleton (Miss Tweed) and Andy Gibb (Geoffrey).

Plot

It is worth noting that the butler is the first suspect to die, prompting a song expressing shock at the fact that "the butler didn't do it" (See Musical Numbers below). Stereotypically, in the works spoofed by the play, the butler was a major suspect and many times was the one who committed the murders.

Throughout the course of the play, all of the characters are killed off by complex and comical booby traps, each a part of a tangled web of deception. Tweed, as the self-appointed detective, quickly takes charge of the situation and accuses many of the crimes, changing her mind quickly when new evidence arises. At the end, it is revealed that the late Lord Rancour invited to his estate everyone who could possibly stand in the way of his chosen heir, the young Hope, from receiving his fortune. He booby-traps the house so that it kills all of these would-be obstacles. By the conclusion, everyone is killed, including Hope and the uninvited Geoffrey, who mistakenly drink wine that has been poisoned for Flint (who previously died by accident in a gas explosion). Since Flint is the only one whose death was not murder, Miss Tweed mistakenly assumed (before her own strangulation) that Flint planned all the murders.

Characters

The cast is comprised of a set of British stock characters typically found in the works of Agatha Christie. They are as follows:

Lettie - "The saucy maid" (Cockney) (lured into giant vacuum cleaner)
Flint - "The caretaker" (Cockney)(killed in accidental gas explosion)
Clive - "The butler" (death by exploding balustrade)
Hope Langdon - "The Ingenue" (drinks poisoned wine intended for Flint)
Dr. Grayburn - "The family doctor" (asphyxiated by gas concealed in telephone)
Nigel Rancour - "The black sheep nephew" (coshed in the bonce by a sconce)
Lady Grace Manley-Prowde - "The Grande Dame" (electrocuted by light switch)
Colonel Gillweather - "The old army man" (poisoned by blowgun dart; lives long enough to analyze the poison)
Miss Tweed - "The tweedy, elderly amateur detective" (strangled by ornamental spear)
Geoffrey - "The juvenile; the uninvited guest" (drinks poisoned wine intended for Flint)