Giveaway, Guest Post

Guest Chick: M.S. Greene

Please join us in welcoming M.S. Greene, author of There’s No Murder Like Show Murder, to Chicks on the Case! We’re so happy to be hosting him today.

There are two things I’ve been for as long as I can remember: a theatre nerd and a mystery lover. (And if you count “pizza eater,” there are three things.) So, when I set out to write my first novel, I naturally wanted to marry these passions in There’s No Murder Like Show Murder.

But ever since I started combining mysteries and musical theatre, I’ve gotten into the strange habit of projecting “whodunnit status” onto everything I watch! Even when there’s no crime in sight, I find myself guessing which character could be the killer. And is it so wrong to wonder if a story could be spiced up with a little murder?

Of course, all of these theatrical masterpieces are practically perfect sans homicide. But just for fun, I’d like to pose the question: What if these classic musicals were murder mysteries?

THE SOUND OF MUSIC

Remember the infamous baroness? I’m talking about Elsa Schraeder, the glamorous-but-bad-with-kids fiancé hanging all over Captain Von Trapp before Fraulein Maria showed up. Well, imagine she drank some poisoned champagne during the grand party while her betrothed was dancing with the governess out back. Who could have done such a thing? Was it the captain himself, looking for an easy way out of their impending marriage? Or was it Maria, the other woman, the will-o-the-wisp who just met the man of her dreams and was determined not to go back to the convent? A less obvious suspect would be Max, Elsa’s friend and confidant, who might have some (ahem) political secrets to keep covered up. And let’s not forget about the Von Trapp children themselves, who may have all worked together to bid “So long, farewell” to their future stepmother.

At the theater that inspired the setting for my book, a playwright on opening night.

THE MUSIC MAN

We all know the heartwarming ending of this classic, but what if—in a shocking twist—Harold Hill had been gunned down on the footbridge after the ice cream social. The town would have just discovered his long musical con, and everyone in River City would have motive. (“You got trouble, my friends!”) There’s Marian the Librarian, of course, but she’d already known about the “professor’s” phony credentials for most of the second act. Mayor Shinn is a bit of a loose cannon, and he could always have pinned the crime on bad boy Tommy Djilas. Come to think of it, Tommy might have pulled the trigger himself, once he discovered he’d become an accomplice to Hill’s crimes. And then there’s Charlie the anvil salesman, who’s clearly got a vendetta against the would-be band leader. But he doesn’t know the territory.

GREASE

Picture this: Danny Zuko is found dead in the front seat of the famous “Greased Lightnin’,” the victim of carbon monoxide poisoning. “Tell me more, tell me more,” you say? Well, Sandy is a person of interest—it’s always the jilted lover. She may seem sweet, but she did strand the victim at the drive-in, and there’s a bad girl lurking inside there even before the big finale. Kenickie, meanwhile, owns the car and has a bone to pick with Danny after the dance contest. But is he too obvious a choice? I wouldn’t count out Rizzo, who seems to be holding in a secret. Maybe she framed her deadbeat boyfriend for the crime. There are worse things she could do.

MY FAIR LADY

An ill-fated attempt to learn the choreography onstage at Moulin Rouge on Broadway.

Poor Professor Higgins! Choked to death on the marbles he used for elocution exercises. I’m sure Eliza Doolittle regrets singing a whole song about wanting to off the man, but do we really believe she had enough rage in her to follow through? Colonel Pickering certainly had means and opportunity, as Higgins’s business partner and confidant throughout his controversial human experiment. Was he trying to protect his professional reputation? Maybe Mrs. Pearce and her staff had finally had enough of this man-child bloviating about the lower classes. You could hardly blame them. But the most obvious suspect, for my money, is Freddy Eynsford-Hill. The guy is obsessed with Eliza and is looking for a way to prove his devotion. And Higgins’s neighbors spotted Mr. Eynsford-Hill walking up and down the street singing love ballads late into the night. What’s the deal with that?

I’ll stop there, before any more golden age composers start rolling in their graves. It’s all in good fun, of course, as someone who grew up singing these showtunes. I can only hope I’ve infused the pages of There’s No Murder Like Show Murder with the love and passion of a true-blue theatre nerd.

GIVEAWAY: Comment below to be entered to win a signed copy of There’s No Murder Like Show Murder!

M. S. Greene is a playwright, lyricist, screenwriter, novelist, and overall theatre nerd living the dream in New York City. Under his full name—Matthew Greene—his scripts have been produced on both coasts and several places in between.

When he’s not hunched over a keyboard, he can be found teaching, directing, and working to close the arts education gap with some of the city’s most talented young people.

He lives in Manhattan with his boyfriend and far too many books.

31 thoughts on “Guest Chick: M.S. Greene”

  2. I have so many stories from being in my high school plays and while none of them end in murder, I could definitely see ways to bring in that element. Very fun!

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    1. None of mine ended in murder either, but I’m surprised playing Jean Valjean and designing the lighting for Les Mis my junior year of high school didn’t kill me! High school theatre memories are the best!

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  3. Love the idea of changing the musicals to murder mysteries! As a big GREASE fan, I can immediately see it working that way and would be first in line to see it. (as well as the others) 🙂

    Thank you so much for the chance to win a copy of THERE’S NO MURDER LIKE SHOW MURDER, which is already on my TBR list. Would love the opportunity to read and review it.

    2clowns at arkansas dot net

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    1. Honored to be on your list! Grease is a fun one to imagine getting deadly, and I would barely blame Rizzo for framing her deadbeat boyfriend. He put her through enough!

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  4. I like the way you think outside the box! Now I am imagining turning some of my favorite movies into murder mysteries. A cozy mystery set in the world of theater sounds like a fun idea. I look forward to reading it.

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    1. Reimagining movies is another favorite pastime of mine. I’ve always wondered what would happen if What’s Up Doc had a murder thrown in. Have you seen that one? Highly recommend!

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  5. Super fun post, M.S.! Love how you incorporated song titles and lyrics. Thanks for being a guest on the Chicks today!

    You know, I would go watch a spin-off of a popular business-themed musical–a new version called How to Succeed in Murder Without Really Trying.

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    1. I’d watch that too, Jen. Especially if it starred Daniel Radcliffe. And ah, Matthew, you had me at “theatre nerd.” What if the Drowsy Chaperone was drowsy because of a mickey slipped in the tea pot? What if Hamilton ended with a murder? What if all those gals in Chicago—Oh, wait … What if Little Sally had enough of Officer Lockstock and drowned him in a commode? What if Schadenfreude went juuuust a little too far on Avenue Q? What if Beth/Liz were BOTH evil twins in If/Then?? The mind reels.

      Thanks for a fun post!

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      1. And Becky, you’ve thought of some that didn’t even occur to me! (And I love hearing Urinetown referenced, wherever possible.)

        Drowsy Chaperone especially just FEELS like a golden age whodunnit, don’t you think?

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        1. Urinetown is one of my faves. We saw it once at a water dept building. Hilarious! It’s a shame people can’t get past the name because it’s filled with symbolism and things like that. But I hear you can kill a show with too much exposition.

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    2. Ooooohh you may be onto something, Jen! I see a gender-swapped production of that in London last year and it was fascinating!

      I love a cheeky title reference, as you can probably tell! 😉

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  6. I also grew up singing show tunes, I remember when NYC had a radio station playing only songs from Broadway shows. Loved that station & listened to it constantly!

    Man of La Mancha would be a perfect musical for a mystery, since it’s set in a prison with Cervantes telling the story of Don Quixote to his fellow prisoners. The murder could be in the story or the prison.

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    1. Maybe that one works be called The Impossible Scream? (Not my best title, I’ll work on it…)
      I remember when NPR would play showtunes every Saturday night. Now I just have my Spotify playlists…

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  7. Matthew, what a great post! I love these twists on musicals, lol. Hmmm… how about one for A Little Night Music? The captain – if that’s who he is – is murdered. Who killed him? The wife? Desiree, the actress? Desiree’s former lover and his competitor? Don’t send in the clowns. Send in the cops!

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    1. That’s especially good because Magnus is the most violent among them…so killing him off presents a delicious mystery!

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  9. There were actually four books written by D E Ireland that made Eliza Doolittle and Henry Higgins a detective team. They’re set after the events of My Fair Lady, although they used the Pygmalion ending for the characters (aka, they didn’t fall in love in the final scene). They were fantastic, and I wish the authors had kept the series going.

    Congrats on your new book. As a theater lover, it sounds like fun. (Please enter me in the giveaway.)

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  10. The baroness is my heroine. (“Oh, Max, haven’t you heard of a wonderful thing called ‘boarding school’?”) So I’m hoping they discover her dastardly murderer!

    Congrats on the new book, and so great to get to meet you in person last night!

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    1. The baroness is such a vibe! I hope she found someone on her level. The captain would have bored her to tears.

      And great meeting you, as well!

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  14. What a fun concept! Love the way you revised these. There’s No Murder Like Show Murder sounds great. khpinelake (at) gmail (dot) com

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  15. Matthew, these are brilliant!! (Long musical con–haha!!)

    I absolutely love this post, and your book sounds right up my alley and down my street. Can’t wait to read! Many congratulations and thanks for hanging out with us. ❤

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  16. I love “West Side Story” and there are already a couple of murders there. But there is no mystery. How could one be created? Now, take “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers” and have one of the town boys commit a murder on one of the brothers and then what ensues is a great story.

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