Santa Claus
Producer. Three million in debt.
An Interactive Musical-Comedy Murder Mystery
Slay Ride VThe Buttcracker Suite
Mrs. Claus
Star. Choreographer. Unstoppable.
Elfish Prezley
Director. Holding the clipboard.
Anti-Santa
Creditor. Hostile takeover. Smarmy.
Elf on the Shelf
Henchman. Eyeing the corner office.
Santa Claus
Producer. Three million in debt.
Mrs. Claus
Star. Choreographer. Unstoppable.
Elfish Prezley
Director. Holding the clipboard.
Anti-Santa
Creditor. Hostile takeover. Smarmy.
Elf on the Shelf
Henchman. Eyeing the corner office.
Is it too soon for the murder in this mystery? I’m volunteering.— Santa
The Case
The North Pole is bankrupt. The show opens in twenty minutes. Someone has sixty seconds to live.
Santa Claus believed his murder-mystery days were behind him. Instead, he is producing a world-premiere Christmas variety show starring Mrs. Claus, directed by Elfish Prezley, and rehearsed with the confidence of people who have not rehearsed at all.
There is one additional problem: Santa owes three million dollars and one cent to the Honest Bank of Poughkeepsie.
Anti-Santa, Santa’s rival since Jolly Old Elf School, arrives with his corporate henchman, Elf on the Shelf, to foreclose on Santaland. The household responds with lottery tickets, marked cards, interpretive ballet, seduction, corporate sabotage, and three increasingly questionable audience-assisted schemes.
Then the world premiere becomes a murder scene. By opening night, every member of the company has acquired a motive, an alibi, or a private plan for taking control.
At the North Pole, the show must go on. Someone will not.
At a Glance
Interactive musical-comedy murder mystery
Approximately 2–2½ hours with dinner and intermission
3 men and 2 women
The North Pole during the Christmas season
Three coached roles, suspect questions, and Detective Cards
Nine musical numbers with recorded accompaniment
Recorded music, sound effects, costumes, and portable props
Dinner theatres, fundraisers, and holiday events
One Producer, One Star, One Director, and Two Corporate Raiders
Five people entered the rehearsal. Only four survived opening night.
Santa Claus
Producer. Three million dollars and one cent in debt. His rescue plans involve lottery tickets, marked cards, and a flexible understanding of ethics.
Mrs. Claus
Star, choreographer, and principal defender of an interpretive ballet no one else believes should exist. Rehearsal remains largely theoretical.
Elfish Prezley
Director, crisis manager, costume supervisor, and reluctant body-removal coordinator. She is trying to save Santaland and open the show.
Anti-Santa
Santa’s oldest rival and president of the Honest Bank of Poughkeepsie. He has come to seize Santaland, flatter the star, and collect every penny.
Elf on the Shelf
Corporate henchman, tablet carrier, and aspiring executive. First the bank. Then the North Pole. Then the world.
Inside the Performance
Three guests enter the act. Everyone else becomes the jury.
Investment PitchHigh-Stakes Card GameRudolph at the DerbySuspect Questions
Guests receive a program, Detective Card, pen, and Character Fun Fact while the cast circulates in character before the scripted action begins.
One guest joins Elf on the Shelf’s dubious medical investment pitch. A second enters Santa’s three-million-dollar card game. A third becomes Rudolph and is recruited for the Kentucky Derby.
After the world premiere becomes an investigation, the full audience questions the suspects and completes Detective Cards before Act Three reveals the solution.
The featured roles are coached comic encounters—not tests of improvisational skill. No advance preparation is required.
Recovered After the World Premiere
Six objects from a hostile takeover disguised as a Christmas pageant.
01 / Corporate Evidence
The Foreclosure Package
Payment was due three days before the day after yesterday.
02 / Costume Evidence
The Buttcracker Costume
The star has completed almost no rehearsal.
03 / Financial Strategy
Santa’s Rescue Plan
Christmas magic requires a backup plan.
04 / Confidential File
Operation: Cuddly
First the bank. Then the North Pole. Then the World!
05 / Living Artifact
The Audience Playbook
Three guests receive instructions. Everyone receives suspicion.
06 / Unknown
Uncatalogued Mints
Recovered after the final rehearsal.
From the Notebook
When bad taste has rhythm.
Bert’s jokes are not isolated lines. They are a performance tempo. A setup becomes a misunderstanding, the misunderstanding becomes a pun, and the scene has already moved on before the audience can recover.
The design gives that shameless comedy a beautiful room in which to misbehave.
Read the Notebook entryAvailable for Production
Foreclose on Santaland. Open the show anyway.
Slay Ride V is designed for five performers, three coached audience participants, full-room suspect questioning, Detective Cards, nine musical numbers with recorded accompaniment, and a portable collection of costumes and hand props.
It is especially suited to dinner and community theatres, restaurants, fundraisers, performing-arts and civic organizations, and corporate or private holiday events.
Production Information
Bring The Buttcracker Suite to your audience.
Reading copies, licensing information, and production materials are available from Butch Maxwell Original Plays.
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