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Dead Men Don't Do Radio Plays

Dead Men Don't Carry Handbags

by Allison Williams

Real life and fiction collide as radio show detective Steve Powell finds himself in the middle of a hot handbag case in cold blood. Will his fake detective skills win the day?

Comedy

Recommended for High Schools and Middle Schools

Running Time
About 25 minutes
Approximate; excludes intermissions and scene changes
Cast
14 Characters
9 M | 5 F, Doubling Possible
Set
Simple set
Production Tips
Read production tips for this play
Source
Part of Dead Men Don't Do Radio Plays, a collection of 2 plays
Free Excerpt

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Royalty fees apply to all performances whether or not admission is charged. Any performance in front of an audience (e.g. an invited dress rehearsal) is considered a performance for royalty purposes.

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14 Characters
9 M, 5 F, Doubling Possible

Characters in this play are currently identified as male or female. Directors are welcome to assign any gender (binary or non-binary) to any character and modify pronouns accordingly.

STEVE POWELL [M] 131 lines
Plays a detective on the air, and sometimes in real life. A heart of gold and a face for radio.
BARBARA MITCHELL [F] 55 lines
If looks could kill, you’d have to lock her up.
MITCHELL MARKHAM [M] 34 lines
A no-good vagrant. A nobody who just might be a somebody.
SERGEANT ANDERSON [M] 19 lines
A hard-nosed cop.
Slightly-less-hard-nosed cops
OFFICER 1 (PETE) [M] 8 lines. lines
OFFICER 2 (MICKEY) [M] 7 lines
SECRETARY [F] 13 lines
A lover of radio.
SALLY [F] 4 lines
A young lover from a half-forgotten memory.
JUDGE [M] 18 lines
Voice like gravel. Carries a gavel.
BLONDE [F] 3 lines
A character in Steve’s Radio Play.
ANNOUNCER [M] 2 lines. lines
the dignified voice of San-Sweep. It’s not just a broom, It’s Sani-Sweep!
DIRECTOR [M] 8 lines
Sees Steve going in a different direction.
PENNY [F] 18 lines
From publicity. Finds some older men appealing.
DRUGGIST [M] 1 line
A key witness to the case.
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