Set in a hair salon, America’s longest running play is a far cry from the Age of Aquarius!
While Agatha Christie’s classic whodunit, The Mousetrap is officially the world’s longest running play, many would be surprised to learn that America’s own record belongs to a theatrical piece called Shear Madness. Similar to Christie’s work, Shear Madness is a whodunit with all the usual suspects, plus the element of comic farce.
Having recently played Boston and Washington, this popular award-winning production, which the Huffington Post calls “Consistently entertaining and often downright hilarious”, is currently playing Off-Broadway at New York’s Davenport Theatre.
Set within the walls of a unisex hair salon, the plot follows your typical murder mystery format with a dead body, in this case the Salon’s unseen landlady, and a cast of would-be murderers. With characters including a stiff antique dealer, snooty socialite, camp hairdresser and his wise-cracking (think Bette Midler) assistant, this stage could easily have suited a Carry On movie.
In fact, one of the best things about Shear Madness is the intimate and colourfully camped-up set which could rival the vibrancy of Hairspray – you’d be forgiven for thinking you’re in the 1980s.
The cast, which seem to enjoy the show as much as the audience, include Jordan Ahnquist (Hamlet) as Tony the stylist, Priscilla Flowers (Spamalot) as assistant Barbara, Gil Brady (Boeing, Boeing) as the suited-up Eddie, Lisa McMillan (Gypsy) as Mrs Shubert, with Patrick Noonan (Orange Is The New Black) and Jonathan Randell Silver (Royal Pains) as the detectives.
Traditionally the ‘whodunit’ has always been a detective story of such, interacting with the crowd, exposing character back stories, motives, alibies and intrinsic clues that are always designed to obscure, confuse or, for the clever, finally unveil the guilty party.
The thing about Shear Madness is that after the first act, the audience is invited to help solve the crime by becoming involved, and eventually gets to vote on the murderer. This in-turn leads to a dramatic finale, and given such interaction and improvisation, each show winds up ending differently – but don’t forget a good whodunit always has a twist!
It’s easy to compare such a show to the many other similar scenarios that have graced our stages and screens over the years. From the movie Clue (1985) to Gosford Park (2001) and even Wes Craven’s Scream franchise, this formula of crime mystery has proved a popular and suspenseful genre. Even television got into the act with shows such as Columbo, Murder She Wrote and the sitcom Get Smart. Dinner theatres have also played their part by immersing diners within the crime scene, and it was actually a dinner theater in Lake George New York where Shear Madness first premiered some 38 years ago.
Given its antics, Shear Madness does have its critics who mainly pan the corny jokes and clichés. But there is reason to the show’s survival, not to mention the many awards. It is the audience (eleven million worldwide), who favour the hilarity and feel-good component, and let’s face it, in these current times it’s warranted.
Considering that the show has been adapted from the 1963 play Scherenschnitte by German playwright Paul Portner, it has travelled a very successful path. It’s original producers Marilyn Abrams and Bruce Jordan are still very much involved, with Abrams having played roles herself, while Jordan continues to direct.
If you go along to this production, be warned that the action begins before the curtain goes up, and keep an eagle eye for details and clues. You just may be called upon to play detective!
For more: shearmadness.com
