Mystery Play

THE STORY: The action is set in the chic living room of a U.S. Senator, during a cocktail party. Present are the Senator, his wife, his schizophrenic bisexual son (played by two actors), a beautiful young woman who may be the son's fiancee, a rather pompous Harvard professor, a quietly efficient butler and a lady mystery writer from next door. It is the mystery writer who holds the key to the bizarre events that follow, as she explains to the actors and the audience what will happen next and what part each character will play in the action about to follow. At the snap of her fingers each sequence begins, as this one is stabbed, that one drinks poisoned coffee, another is blown up-until only the mystery writer and the true culprit remain. But, as the corpses keep popping up to add to the conversation, the plot continues to thicken-providing both a delightful metaphysical spoof and a scathing assessment of the social and political hypocrisy of our disjointed times.Van Itallie, Jean-Claude is the author of 'Mystery Play ' with ISBN 9780822208044 and ISBN 0822208040.