Auditions & Classes

Open Auditions: The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940

Written by John Bishop

About the Show

A Broadway creative team—fresh off a notorious flop linked to the "Stage Door Slasher"—gathers at a wealthy backer's Westchester mansion to audition their new musical. Trapped by a blizzard in a house packed with secret passages and suspicious guests, they soon discover the killer may be closer than anyone thinks. As bodies begin to drop and accusations fly, the night spirals into fast-paced, tongue-in-cheek mayhem—until the Slasher is finally unmasked.

Cast of Characters

• Helsa Wenzel — Maid of the Grossenknueten estate.
• Elsa Von Grossenknueten — Eccentric mansion owner and musical "angel" determined to uncover the truth.
• Michael Kelly — Undercover cop posing as a butler; tough, no-nonsense investigator.
• Patrick O'Reilly — A "tenor" with shifting identities and dangerous secrets.
• Ken De La Maize — Name-dropping director who treats theater like high art.
• Nikki Crandall — Chorus girl with a hidden naval-intelligence mission and sharp instincts.
• Eddie McCuen — Out-of-work comedian who grows from cowardly to courageous.
• Marjorie Baverstock — Broadway producer who flatters, smooth-talks, and says everything is "divoon."
• Roger Hopewell — Composer with plenty of swagger and a quick wit.
• Bernice Roth — Roger's emotional, perpetually thirsty lyricist partner.