Monday Night Theatre Appreciation Seminars at Theatre 40

Play readings followed by Q&A.

September 29, 2025- What Is Murder? by Ken Levine. Four former Jeopardy champions meet for a weekend to prepare for the Tournament of Champions. When the frontrunner is murdered, it becomes a game of cat and mouse between three brainiacs and a wily detective. Comedy, clues, and surprises await.

October 6- Tell Me All You Know by Leda Siskind. We are watching the rehearsal of the true story of one naval officer who spoke out against the fascist Argentine government in 1979 when one of the actors stops the rehearsal to accuse the director of compliance with the very junta the play is against.

October 20- Text M for Murder by Tim Ryan. Set in present day London, Text M for Murder is a parody of the classic, single set crime thriller (Dial M for Murder, Death Trap, Rope) featuring a pretentious metrosexual villain, his OCD wife, her cheesy American TV writer/lover, a bumbling assassin, and the female chief inspector with a Gibraltar-sized chip who will unravel it all.

October 27- The Gilded Stage by Gary Kaskel. The dynamics of producing a Broadway show are explored by examining the roles of the strong producer, the tough critic, and the difficult actor in this two-act satire spanning two generations.

November 3- The Mystery of Castle Bay by Frank Semerano. Castle Bay is the only house on the cliff with a black-veiled portrait, suspicious floral arrangements, and an uninvited vacuum cleaner salesman.  Alice is grieving.  Tom is selling.  Gil and Irma are scheming.  And Nelson?  He's everywhere.  Literally.  In this whirlwind one-act mystery-comedy, ambition and suspicion collide.  With identities hidden, loyalties tested, and one very faulty vacuum cleaner, the truth is sure to come out – but probably not cleanly.  It is a nod to film-noir of the 50s.  Who is pulling the strings in a quest for a fortune?  That is the mystery.

November 10- Call It Day by Eric Gordon. A play about truth, point of view, what we choose to remember, what we choose to conceal, and Marc Blitzstein and his biographer.