Comedy Murder Mystery Plays

	Comedy Murder Mysteries If your theatre is looking for a lively one act or two-act comedy murder mystery playscript, these shows will thrill your audiences. Many with audience participation, these shows are perfect for junior high, middle and high schools, as well as churches and community theatres. Check out the large variety of small cast and large cast thrillers. These plays are both short and long to fit any type of venue. Everyone will have fun trying to untangle twisted plots of intrigue. It’s comedy and suspense for all. And don’t forget — they are also excellent for dinner theater and fundraising!
	Pioneer Drama Service is thrilled to offer 62 funny murder mysteries.
	Aunt Maggity’s Dark and Stormy Night Cast: 4M, 6F, plus 2 roles that can be either Set/Time: Unit set / About 60 minutes There are laughs a-plenty and personalities galore in this light-hearted romp of a mystery that has a little bit of everything! More...	Sort by: Title Minimum cast size Running time Narrow your results: Non-musical (56) Musical (6) One act (15) Full length (47) 6-10 characters (13) 11-15 characters (9) 16-20 characters (20) 21-25 characters (11) 26-30 characters (5) 31 characters or more (2) 30-55 minutes (12) 60-85 minutes (14) 90 minutes or more (37) Children's theatre (2) Drama (2) Spoof or farce (35) Audience participation (12) Literary classic or adaptation (3) Halloween (14) Orchestral parts (3) Start a new search

	Ax of Murder Cast: Flexible cast of 21 (roughly 9M, 12F), extras if desired Set/Time: Simple interior set / About 90 minutes Beware the twists and turns of this play. Your audiences won’t know who or what to believe in this comedic mystery. More...

	The Best Haunted House Ever Cast: Flexible cast of 20 (about 8M, 12F) Set/Time: Simple interior set / About 75 minutes Just who is doing the spooking here? You'll find the eerie answer in this haunted tale that's hilarious fun any time of year. More...

	Blue Suede Paws A one-act musical monster spoof Cast: Flexible cast of 30 (about 10M, 20F), optional chorus, doubling Set/Time: Several simple sets / About 60 minutes Riverdale High School’s insecure outcast, Rupert Lydecker, takes it upon himself to visit Doctor Dangerfield’s place. More...

	Cafe Murder Cast: 2M, 5F, plus 2 roles that can be either, extras Set/Time: One interior set / About 40 minutes Rosemary Saint-John is an annoying hypochondriac convinced she is allergic to water. When she disappears and is presumed murdered, the only objective witnesses are the audience members. More...

	The Case of the Phantom Baseball Cast: 4M, 13F Set/Time: Simple interior set / About 90 minutes Grandmother Cantrell is convinced she has the power to “will” the baseball from the ball park to her house every time Kenny hits a home run. More...

	Curse of the Cobra’s Kiss Cast: 7M, 14F Set/Time: Simple interior set / About 90 minutes Your audience will be involved... literally, while they help solve one of the most hilarious mysteries of the 1920s. More...

	Dead Man’s Chest Cast: 7M, 9F plus 1 that can be either, doubling possible Set/Time: Single set / About 90 minutes Ten amateur archaeologists have signed on to help famed explorer Dr. Lewis Squeaky dig for Ali Sann’s treasure — the Dead Man’s Chest — on Heart Island, somewhere in the Caribbean. More...

	Death Aboard the Duchess Cast: 5M, 5F, optional extras Set/Time: Interior and exterior ship set / About 45 minutes Here’s a short, simple mystery that doesn’t take itself too seriously and offers engaging characters and fun twists. More...

	Dress Rehearsal for Murder Cast: Flexible cast of 17 (About 7M, 8F, plus 2 that can be either) Set/Time: Simple interior set / About 60 minutes When Riviera’s fiancé, Bernard the Mime, turns up dead and his body then disappears, the list of suspects is long — seems like there isn’t a man in the place who’s not vying for Riviera’s affection. More...

	Evil Doings in Queen Toots’ Tomb Cast: 6M, 10F Set/Time: Several simple sets / About 120 minutes Set in the 1920s, this comic thriller is full of memorable characters, a wacky chase scene and a touch of romance, plus a surprise ending that'll have your audiences wrapped up with laughter. More...

	A Family Reunion to Die For A murder mystery comedy with audience interaction Cast: 4M, 10F, plus 3 roles that can be either Set/Time: Single interior set / About 100 minutes Complete with a hilarious chase scene and a chance for several of the characters to interact with the audience, this murder mystery comedy will have audiences rolling in the aisles! More...

	Gumshoe High Cast: Flexible cast of 29 (About 9M, 12F plus 8 that can be either) Set/Time: Easy representational sets / About 90 minutes This totally teen mystery bursts with comedy like a giant piece of bubblegum as it reveals for our gumshoe the only thing that matters: whoddunit? More...

	Harry Mason and the Case of the Anxious Alien Cast: Flexible cast of 23 (7M, 11F, plus 5 roles that can be either) Set/Time: Simple area set / About 90 minutes Mediocre lawyer Harry Mason, the younger brother of a much more famous and skilled attorney, has an out-of-the-world case when an Air Force major with a secret turns up dead. More...

	Hickory Dickory Dead Cast: 3M, 5F Set/Time: Single interior set / About 90 minutes A reunion weekend for estranged sisters Connie and Regan takes a mysterious turn when they find the host of Hickory Dickory Inn murdered! More...

	Holmes On The Range Cast: 11M, 11F Set/Time: Simple interior set / About 60 minutes Join the buffoonery and fun as Sherlock Holmes and, of course, his associate, Dr. Watson, solve the mystery at Bicuspid Manor. More...

	Hotel Frankenstein Cast: 6M, 4F Set/Time: One interior set / About 80 minutes Dr. Frankenstein’s grandson advertises his castle as a vacation retreat so he can select from a smorgasbord of brains to bring his grandfather's monster to life once again. More...

	Hound of the Clackervilles Based on the classic Sherlock Holmes story Cast: 10M, 19F Set/Time: Single interior set / About 90 minutes In this hysterical spoof, the famous Sherlock Holmes and his ever-loyal sidekick, Dr. Watson, pose as exterminators to unravel another mystery. More...

	Illinois Jane and the Pyramid of Peril Cast: 3M, 1F, plus 4 roles that can be either Set/Time: Representational sets / About 55 minutes When a map to a long-lost pyramid is discovered, only the greatest adventure hero of all time can unlock its mysteries — Illinois Jane, cartographer extraordinaire! More...

	In Memoriam Cast: 4M, 2F Set/Time: Simple interior set / About 30 minutes Inspired by Agatha Christie’s Ten Little Indians, this fast moving murder mystery will send a chill down your spine. More...

	Inspector Detector and the Precious Treasure Cast: Flexible cast of 9 (4M, 5F) Set/Time: Simple interior set with small side set / About 45 minutes Filled with a parade of fun-filled characters and hearty action, audiences and actors will love helping Inspector Detector put all of the pieces together to find a precious treasure. More...

	Legend of Sammy’s Swamp Cast: 10M, 14F plus extras (doubling possible) Set/Time: Simple interior set / About 90 minutes Ms. Flagg and her students show up for a stay at Sammy's Swamp, a former resort. Little do they know that they are about to stumble upon a string of mysteries, including a swamp ghost. More...

	Little Miss Christie Cast: 8M, 14F, optional extras Set/Time: One interior set / About 120 minutes Strange things are happening at spooky Saltmarsh Manor, an old house next to a boarding school. Obviously, it's a case for Christie Blake, a devoted fan of mystery writer, Agatha Christie. More...

	Lucky Dollar — Private Eye Cast: Extremely flexible cast of 18 (roughly 6M, 12F, can be smaller) Set/Time: Two simple interior sets / About 90 minutes After the two have a fettuccini lunch in a Thai restaurant, a Los Angeles detective decides to take on Pandora Sugarland's zany case. More...

	Lucky Dollar, Private Eye — The Musical Cast: Flexible cast of 18 (about 6M, 12F), optional chorus, doubling Set/Time: Two simple interior sets / About 90 minutes After the two have a fettuccini lunch in a Thai restaurant, a Los Angeles detective decides to take on Pandora Sugarland's zany case. More...

	Mission: Possible! Cast: 8M, 8F, plus 5 roles that can be either Set/Time: Simple interior set / About 75 minutes Here's a hysterical spoof with all of your favorite spies of the screen! You'll never believe what happens to Blond... James Blond. More...

	Murder at the Banquet Cast: 4M, 4F, extras Set/Time: Simple interior set / About 40 minutes The International Association of Mystery Solvers is hosting an awards banquet for the “world's greatest detectives.” More...

	Murder at the Goon Show Cast: Flexible cast of 32 (roughly 12M, 20F) optional doubling, extras Set/Time: Bare stage / About 90 minutes The pot boils over when Zorina the hypnotist is murdered on a weekly television show. Conveniently, one of the contestants is a homicide detective who sets out to solve this baffling crime. More...

	Murder at the Orient Express Cast: 5M, 9F plus one offstage voice Set/Time: One interior set / About 90 minutes The richest man in town, a private eye and an odd assortment of customers in disguise will have you laughing out loud long before the pu-pu platter is served. More...

	Murder by Indecision Cast: 6M, 11F Set/Time: Simple interior set / About 80 minutes Age has caught up with Agatha Crispy, the world's best known mystery playwright, as she attempts to crank out her newest and last manuscript. More...

	Murder by the Book Cast: 4M, 6F Set/Time: Simple interior set / About 90 minutes Some of the greatest writers of all time are brought together to solve a murder mystery. Your audiences will love this fun peek at the very human side of famous writers. More...

	Murder Can be Habit-Forming Cast: 7M, 9F Set/Time: Single interior set / About 90 minutes This play is a light-hearted mystery comedy that reveals the very human side of nuns as they attempt to stay one step ahead of a killer. More...

	Murder In Bloom A Mystery-Comedy in Two Acts Cast: 2M, 8F Set/Time: One interior set / About 90 minutes One of the richest ladies in an English village town is mysteriously murdered during a garden club meeting. And who among these harmless ladies would be capable of murder? More...

	Murder In The House Of Horrors Cast: Flexible cast of 15 (roughly 7M, 8F), extras Set/Time: Interior set / About 90 minutes A professor is dead and a priceless jewel has vanished when the lights go out during a slide show. Your audience is now drawn into this mystery, both as witnesses and suspects. More...

	Murder Most Fowl Cast: 5M, 11F Set/Time: Simple set / About 90 minutes Two of your audience members will have better than a bird’s-eye view of your performance as they join the cast onstage for the entire play and eventually determine “whodunit” in this mystery comedy! More...

	Murder’s in the Heir Cast: 5M, 8F, plus 2 roles that can be either Set/Time: Simple interior set / About 90 minutes Almost every character in this hilarious mystery has the weapon, opportunity and motive to commit the unseen murder. And it's up to your audience to decide who actually did it! More...

	The Mysterious Case of the Missing Ring Cast: Flexible cast of 18 (about 5M, 13F) Set/Time: Single set / About 45 minutes The royal ring is missing, and the queen won’t sleep until the royal detectives (all 13 of them!) find it. More...

	Mystery at Shady Acres Or... Carats and Crumpets Cast: 12M, 14F Set/Time: Simple interior set / About 75 minutes Your audience's help is needed to solve a baffling theft at Shady Acres, a cozy hotel tucked away in the remote English countryside in the late 1920s. More...

	The Mystery Guest Cast: 5M, 6F, 2 extras Set/Time: Simple interior sets / About 30 minutes As a woman awaits the identification of a “mystery guest,” it is discovered that often “Mr. Wrong” is “Mr. Right.” More...

	Mystery on 13th Street Cast: Flexible cast of 19 (About 4M, 8F plus 7 that can be either) Set/Time: Simple sets / About 65 minutes When young members of a community club solicit the town's eccentric scientist for help with a project, they start to wonder if he's a mad scientist turning children into cats! More...

	Nightmare High School Cast: Flexible cast of 7M, 7F, extras Set/Time: Minimal props on bare stage / About 75 minutes Six high school students join forces one stormy night, staking out the bare stage of their school auditorium to discover the identity of the mysterious Locker Stalker. More...

	No Body To Murder Cast: 6M, 12F, plus 2 roles that can be either Set/Time: Interior set / About 35 minutes Bad news — in the form of severe thunderstorms and an escaped convict — threatens the guests at the Come On Inn in this quick comedy that’s full of zany characters and hilarious stage action! More...

	Nothing But the Truth Cast: 5M, 5F Set/Time: One set / About 90 minutes With a slew of hilarious misleading clues, love triangles and mistaken identities, this entertaining, light-hearted tale of spies and espionage will peak your curiosity and tickle your funny bone! More...

	Oh, Horrors! It’s Murder! A Musical Mystery Comedy Cast: Flexible cast of 15 (about 7M, 8F), optional chorus Set/Time: Simple interior / About 90 minutes A professor is dead and a priceless jewel has vanished when the lights go out during a slide show. Your audience is now drawn into this mystery, both as witnesses and suspects. More...

	Phantom of the Campfire Cast: Flexible cast of 23 (roughly 10M, 13F) Set/Time: Simple exterior set / About 90 minutes We know about that mysterious phantom lurking in the opera house, but now there seems to be one at Camp Geronimo!. More...

	Sherlock Holmes Cast: Flexible cast of 25, optional extras Set/Time: Simple area staging / About 120 minutes Here’s a highly entertaining adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s famed detective story. More...

	Spook House A Creepy Comedy Cast: Flexible cast of 9M, 10F, extras Set/Time: Simple interior set / About 90 minutes Come to the home of ten nice monsters that, unfortunately, are misunderstood. This play is subtly wrapped with the sensitive message that it's all right to be different. More...

	Stop Sending in the Clowns Cast: Flexible cast of 21 (roughly 8M, 13F) Set/Time: Simple interior set / About 90 minutes An attempt to get to the bottom of a smuggling ring, a petty theft and a missing persons case is made difficult when a wacky clown troupe keeps interfering with the investigation. More...

	Tales of Terror from Nightmare High School Cast: Flexible cast of 14 (roughly 7M, 7F), plus optional chorus/ensemble Set/Time: Minimal props on bare stage / About 90 minutes Six high school students join forces one stormy night, staking out the bare stage of their school auditorium to discover the identity of the mysterious Locker Stalker. More...

	Teenage Night Of Living Horror Cast: Flexible cast of 25 (7M, 12F plus 6 [ghouls] that can be either), optional extras, doubling Set/Time: Simple interior set / About 90 minutes Four students in charge of the annual senior class party locate an abandoned farmhouse by a graveyard that was once occupied by a creepy doctor who tried to re-animate the dead. More...

	Three Doors To Death or... The Choice is Yours Cast: Flexible cast of 9 or more (3M, 6F or 4M, 5F) Set/Time: Simple interior set / About 30 minutes The audience gets to decide, not only who a killer is, but also how the story will end. Will the killer go to jail or be allowed to escape (and what an escape it will be!)? More...

	Tom Sawyer, Detective Adapted from the Mark Twain classic Cast: 13M, 5F, plus extras, doubling possible Set/Time: Several simple sets / About 90 minutes The wild antics of Tom Sawyer are captured with the humor, fast action and clever story line in this dramatization of another of Mark Twain's brilliant tales. More...

	Touchtone “M” for Murder An Audience Participation Mystery Cast: 7M, 10F Set/Time: Interior set / About 90 minutes A famous (although rather inept) detective needs the help of the audience in solving a mystery. Thanks to their help, he untangles a twisted plot of intrigue, eventually catching the killer. More...

	The _urloined Letter Cast: 3M, 3F, plus 2 extras Set/Time: Simple interior sets / About 30 minutes The witty wordplay in this delightful film noir spoof will appeal to all ages. More...

	The Visitors Cast: 4M, 13F Set/Time: Single interior set / About 75 minutes There’s nothing worse than unexpected visitors. Nothing worse, that is, unless it’s the crazy folks who want to visit with “a real live, dead ghost!” More...

	Who Killed Elvis? Cast: 12M, 20F Set/Time: Simple interior set / About 90 minutes This madcap mystery-comedy offers a simple set and plenty of hilarious opportunities to show your own Elvis fervor! More...

	Who Poisoned His Meatball? Cast: Flexible cast of 17 (roughly 7M, 10F), optional extras Set/Time: One simple set / About 90 minutes When a man dies suddenly at an Italian restaurant, the customers and staff of this fast-paced crime retrace their steps to unravel the meaty mystery and you're invited to join the dinner party. More...

	Whodunit Cast: 4M, 3F Set/Time: Simple interior set / About 30 minutes In this farcical spoof of mysteries, a man and a woman are lured to a desolate mansion. Riotous chaos ensues when a host of weird characters are all out to kill each other. More...

	WhoDunit... and to Whom? A play within a play within a... in two acts Cast: Flexible cast of 19 (6M, 9F, plus 4 roles that can be either) Set/Time: Simple interior set / About 90 minutes In this play within a play, a man tries to type a detective story. As he writes, we see the actions played out on stage. And as he corrects his writing, the actors revise their actions. More...

	Who’s Dying to be a Millionaire? Cast: 7M, 18F, plus 2-5 roles that can be either Set/Time: Simple interior set / About 90 minutes Contestants are dropping as fast as the wisecracks in this lampoon of quiz shows, politics and basic human nature. What would you answer if someone asked you, More...

	The Will And The Spirit Cast: Flexible cast of 15 Set/Time: Several simple sets / About 60 minutes In order to fulfill the terms of the will of his late eccentric uncle and inherit an estate, a man has to spend the night in a dilapidated mansion. More...

	Young Dracula or... The Singing Bat Cast: Flexible cast of 18, chorus, extras Set/Time: Simple interior set / About 120 minutes A group of students have lost their way and find themselves spending the night in the castle of Count Dracula! More...

Comedy Murder Mysteries