About the Play:

The Butler Did It, Again is a full-length comedy whodunit by Tim Kelly. Miss Maple and her writers will once again spend a weekend in an eerie mansion where unexpected happenings just may occur. Packed with entertaining personalities and eventful action, the murder mystery is a follow-up to the ever-popular The Butler Did It.

The Butler Did It, Again parodies every English mystery play ever written: but it has a decidedly North American flair. Miss Maple, a publisher and socialite noted for her "imaginative" weekend parties, rents a gothic Southern Mansion named Spanish Moss, complete with menacing alligator, in the frightening swap land of Louisiana. She invites a slew of her detective novel friends to the house to play murder mystery games. Most are famous detective writers incognito, told by Maple they must portray the protagonist they write about in their novels or else face a fine. She also wants to introduce her latest literary discovery, horror author Ruth Dice, who has written a first novel entitled Conversations with a Ghoul. Ruth has only contempt for the guests. Naturally, she's the perfect candidate for murder. However, it's the bizarre owner of the house of secrets, Jasper Van Dine, who's discovered in the parlour with a scalpel once belonging to Jack the Ripper in his back! It's up to the flaky detective writers to unravel the puzzle. Chills, thrills, alibis, clues, motives, and dazzling plot twists fly about the stage like pies-in-the-face. Nothing is what it seems to be and you'll need a scorecard to keep track of who's who and what's what. Smoke and mirrors, fun and games – from start to finish. Bring a seat belt!

The Butler Did It, Again can be played as a pure farce, or as humorous satire. It remains a popular choice for school and community theatre productions.

Cast: 6 female, 6 male

What people say:

"A crazy gumbo of off-the-wall dialogue and nutbrain action." — Theatre Laurel Promoter

About the Playwright:

Tim Kelly (1931-1998) is often regarded as the most-published playwright in America, with over 300 titles to his credit under both his real name and at least four pseudonyms (Vera Morris, J. Moriarty, Robert Swift, Keith Jackson). Many of his plays, like Les Miserables, M*A*S*H and The Uninvited, are adaptations of novels, films. or television series, although he also wrote a host of parodies a well as original scripts and musical libretti. While his plays have been performed off-Broadway and by such companies as the Royal Court Rep, the Manhattan Theatre Club (MTC) and Seattle Rep, he is best known for writing for university, community and school theatre.