[TylerMcMahon]

Has anyone else been in this great show?

I was "Nigel Rancour" May/June 2007 and is was awesome.
Nigel was one of my dream roles. And the show was so much fun.

What character did you play and what did you think of the show?

I had 90% of every audience thinking it was "Nigel" until he died at the end of his song. Which made me so happy and the Director loved that.

[yuelulu]

It sounds like a great show. We have auditions coming up in a couple weeks and i'm having a bit of trouble finding info on this show, especially the male roles. Can you provide some info, characters and vocal range, etc. What is the music style?
Thanks!

[TylerMcMahon]

well there are 6 males roles and 4 women.

Clive the Butler who dies about a page after the opening song.
Dr. Grayburn who dies a little after Geoffrey's entrance
Col. Gillweather is the old slighty bumbling army man
none of them sing solos other than in group songs in Act I

Flint the caretaker sings "Problematical Solution" aka "The Dinghy Song"
Flint is a gripper or pervert and is cockney

Geoffrey is in college and the only guest to the mansion that's not actually invited. He has no ties to any other characters. He sings in all group numbers after he enters and then the Duets "I Don't Know Why I Trust You" and "A New Day" and the trio "I Owe It All"

Nigel Rancour (the role I played) is the conniving, dark-hearted, snidely, dissolute Nephew of Lord Dudley Rancour. His only concern is getting his Uncle's will so he can see if he will get Dudley's fortune. He sings in all the group numbers and has the Solo "I Know What I'm Looking For" more commonly known as "The Legal Heir"

I'm not really sure of the men's vocal ranges other than Nigel is written for a high tenor. I'm not sure but I want to say his highest note is G sharp

Flint is really more character singing than actualy notes.

Geoffrey I'd say is more low tenore/high baritone



Something's Afoot is a murder mystery musical that spoofs all-things-detective, mainly the works of Agatha Christie, and especially her detective novel And Then There Were None (aka Ten Little Indians). The book, music, and lyrics were written by James McDonald, David Vos, and Robert Gerlach, with additional music by Ed Linderman. The play involves a group of people who are invited to the lake estate of Lord Dudley Rancour. When the wealthy lord is found dead, its a race against the clock to find out whodunnit.

It is worth noting that the butler is the first suspect to die, prompting a song expressing shock at the fact that "the butler didn't do it" (See Musical Numbers below). Stereotypically, in the works spoofed by the play, the butler was a major suspect and many times was the one who committed the murders.

Throughout the course of the play, all of the characters are killed off by complex and comical booby traps, each a part of a tangled web of deception. Tweed, as the self-anointed detective, quickly takes charge of the situation and accuses many of the crimes, changing her mind quickly when new evidence arises. At the end, it is revealed that the late Lord Rancour invited to his estate everyone who could possibly stand in the way of his chosen heir, the young Hope, from receiving his fortune. He booby-traps the house so that it kills all of these would-be obstacles. By the conclusion, everyone is killed, including Hope and the uninvited Geoffrey, who mistakenly drunk wine that had been poisoned for Flint.

The cast is comprised of a set of stock characters typically found in the works of Agatha Christie. They are as follows:

Lettie - "The saucy maid"
Flint - "The caretaker"
Clive - "The butler"
Hope Langdon - "The Ingenue"
Dr. Grayburn - "The family doctor"
Nigel Rancour - "The dissolute nephew"
Lady Grace Manley-Prowe - "The Grande Dame"
Colonel Gillweather - "The old army man"
Miss Tweed - "The tweedy, elderly amateur detective"
Geoffrey - "The juvenile; the uninvited guest"


Act I
A Marvelous Weekend - Company
Something's Afoot - Company
Carry On - Miss Tweed, Lady Grace, Lettie and Hope
I Don't Know Why I Trust You (But I Do) - Hope and Geoffrey
The Man With the Ginger Mustache - Lady Grace
Suspicious - Company

Act II
The Legal Heir - Nigel
You Fell Out of the Sky - Hope
Dinghy - Flint and Lettie
I Owe It All - Miss Tweed, Hope and Geoffrey
New Day - Geoffrey, Hope and Choir

[furrutia]

I've just been notified that I was cast as Nigel. I'm concerned that the part is for a high tenor. I'm a bass/baritone (G flat? Are you kidding me?), so we'll just have to see how it goes. Are any other parts better suited for a bass/baritone? I'm not familiar with the musical. Thanks

[TylerMcMahon]

[furrutia]

Well yes Nigel is a high tenor part but any song can be transposed.

The only other guys in the show that sing are Flint which i'm not sure but can be a baritone. He sings a duet called "Dinghy"

Geoffrey sings in two duets and one trio he's a baritone role[/quote]

Our musical director isn't keen on transposing music, but I'll talk her into it.

Just drove by Kankakee on the way to Crete this Thanksgiving. Actually, this time we stopped for a quick shopping spree.

[TylerMcMahon]

[furrutia]

[Salome]

I'd hate to hear nigel's stuff transposed. 2 of my favorite parts are his "I Recommend a Tanqueray!!' and the last note of "Legal Heir" !!

[TylerMcMahon]

[TylerMcMahon]

[LIL_Miss_BrOaDwAy]

I want to be Hope really bad. Has anyone played her part before or know much about her part?

[lottielou22]

well, Hope is a soprano...
Nigel guy, I love your character!! The guy that I saw as Nigel had also been Erik in Phantom. He was pretty fabulous. At one point he was wearing a Spanish knight's helmet... I can't quite remember why.... I think it was while he was looking during The Legal Heir... anyway, it amused me.

[yuelulu]

I'm currently playing Geoffrey in this show and I completely agree with Tyler, this show is a blast. A great variety of styles of music, lots of great character roles.
The vocal ranges are a bit demanding, esp Hope and Nigel.

[TylerMcMahon]

Geoffrey can be a fun part to play.

I will always personally love Nigel. (But I'm a little bias!)

I'd really love to do the show again!!

[Kiwi]

Ugh, I'm soooo jealous of all of you who have been in the show. My brother was Colonel Gillweather his sophomore year in high school and since i saw it then I've wanted to be in it. But since it was already done at our high school not too long ago there's no hope there, and all community theatres around here want to do is stuff like Anne of Green Gables and Paint Your Wagon. *sniff* It's such a hilarious and amazing show...

[The Guard]

They are all great parts.

This is the first musical I did in college. I even had a solo, which consisted of:

"Da da da da...da da da da."

I wanted to be Nigel or Flint, and was cast as Colonel Shirley Gilweather, which I hated until I read the script more thoroughly, specifically his death scene and "romantic tension" scenes with Lady Grace Manley Prowe. Just classic stuff. This is a great show, and a great role. Got to act like a blustery pseudo Ian McKellan/Sean Connery type for weeks. Dropping the monocle, saying "I never!", being way too offended, you name it.

Something's Afoot is deceptively simple, but it is so well written it's not funny. You don't even have to be a good actor for these lines to crack the audience up.

We all, and I mean all of us, HATED this show until opening night. HATED it, because we didn't think ANYONE would find it the least bit funny. It KILLED, and it may be one of the best shows I've ever done. Absolutely hilarious if you can get yourself and the audience in the right mindset.

It was just great. Our Nigel played him very flamboyantly and kept doing this "looking into the camera thing" every time he said "After all, I am...the LEGAL heir."

[Kiwi]

I seem to recall your character also having the solos of "ovaltine-e, ovaltine-e" and "I brought my chess set from Bombay"

Col. Guilweather's death scene is by far the best in the show. "Bloody thing must be fast!" So brilliant!

[Salome]

or his great line.."Good God! Ive been murdered!"

[The Guard]

[Salome]

its such a great show..even Clive and Dr. Grayburn get their moemnts to shine.