We challenged eight playwrights to find the comedy in crime in this rogues’ gallery of ten-minute plays wrapped in a classic whodunnit. When eccentric billionaire J. Leslie Arlington is murdered, a clueless detective finds the suspects are all reluctant to admit their alibis... because they were all committing other ridiculous crimes at the time. Designed as a flexible build-your-own mystery, you can perform these plays in any combination and thread them together with optional interludes. You never know what’s coming next when your suspects include disgruntled chefs, teen detectives and vengeful divas, but one thing’s for certain: every alibi is absolutely absurd.
The Alibis contains the following plays, which can also be performed individually:
Attempted Theft of a Confection from a Minor by Patrick Greene – Two master thieves are about to pull the biggest job of their lives and nothing can get in the way, except maybe a sweet tooth.
Davina Arlington Wants Revenge by Tyler Dwiggins – When a vengeful diva and her daughter break into a mansion, they try to dodge the after-hours staff and find more than they bargained for.
Hamster Murder! by Ian McWethy – The more Rose’s parents try to salvage her birthday party, the more disasters pile up in this mini-farce.
Mill Noir by Jonathan Dorf – A teen thespian detective discovers a vast black market for plagiarized papers and an unlikely ally.
Badger Poison by Kathryn Funkhouser – A shady lawyer plans to silence a pair of activists by any means necessary, but keeping track of a deadly beverage is harder than it looks.
In Case of Fish by Jason Pizzarello – Two underpaid chefs turn to smuggling stolen jewels, only to find themselves matching wits with an unusual buyer.
The Incredible Season Finale by Mora V. Harris – A woman trying to watch the final episode of a trashy reality show finds a neighbor desperate to come over and even more desperate to keep her fandom a secret.
I Did It! by Carrie McCrossen – A murderous wealthy man finds himself forced to make an unplanned stop on his way to kill an arch rival.