WHO KILLED JOAN CRAWFORD?
by Michael Leeds
On a dark stormy night, five men arrive at a cabin for a soap star’s surprise birthday party. Each guest has been asked to dress as the birthday boy’s favorite actress, Joan Crawford, in one of her signature roles – and the results aren’t pretty. As they wait for the star, the five “Joans” begin drinking and dishing, dark secrets emerge and soon there’s one Joan less … and then another… Who Killed Joan Crawford?!
- Cast Size: 5M
- Running Time: 90+ minutes
- Royalty Rate: $75 per performance
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About the Playwright
MICHAEL LEEDS began his career performing on Broadway under the direction of such luminaries as Gower Champion and Martin Scorsese before moving into directing, choreographing and writing. As a director, Michael is perhaps best known for writing and directing Swinging On A Star on Broadway which received a Tony Award nomination for Best Musical. Off-B’way he directed and choreographed Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah – The Songs of Allan Sherman for which he was nominated for a Drama Desk Award for Best Director/Best Choreographer. Other Off-B’way credits include Showing Off starring Donna Murphy, and the York Theatre’s revivals of 70, Girls, 70 starring Jane Powell & Charlotte Rae and Lerner & Lane’s Carmelina which he adapted with the original book writer Joe Stein. His production of the European Premiere of Arthur Miller’s Playing For Time won the prestigious Edinburgh Fringe Festival First Award. He also directed and choreographed A Little Night Music for the Houston Grand Opera starring Frederica Von Stade & Thomas Allen and Marc Blitzstein’s Regina for Florida Grand Opera starring Lauren Flanigan. For film, Michael choreographed End of Summer starring Jacqueline Bisset & Peter Weller, co-wrote with Linda Yellen The Simian Line starring William Hurt, Lynn Redgrave and Tyne Daly, The Last Film Festival starring Dennis Hopper and Jacqueline Bisset, and Showtime’s Fluidity starring Nico Tortorella. His latest film, Chantilly Bridge stars Lindsay Crouse, Jill Eikenberry, Ally Sheedy, Talia Shire, Patricia Richardson, Helen Slater and JoBeth Williams. He is currently writing the screenplay adaptation of Stewart Lewis’s book, One Stupid Thing to be directed by Linda Yellen. His plays include The First Step, Who Killed Joan Crawford?, Impressions, The Gift, Starmaker and his adaptation of Cole Porter’s Red, Hot And Blue which he directed at both Goodspeed Opera and PaperMill Playhouse as well as co-writing book, music and lyrics for Mating Habits of the Urban Mammal which has had production throughout the country. In South Florida, he’s directed at Gable Stage, Palm Beach DramaWorks, Broward Stage Door Theatre and Island City Stage where he is Associate Artistic Director. His productions have earned him South Florida’s highest honors: the Carbonell and Silver Palm Awards.
“The Boys in the Band” meets “And Then There Were None.” Five guests arrive at a birthday party dressed as iconic Joan Crawford movie roles (think the drag sensitivity of Milton Berle rather than RuPaul) only to find their host hanged (not on a wire coat hanger) in a closet. As the “Joan’s” are each then killed off one by one, snappy, bitchy dialogue reveals their fraught relationships. Funny, excellent work with a major twist at the end. Don’t miss it!
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