Let's Kill Carey Oakie!

4+ people, any age or sex
Only 3 roles are speaking, and one person can be double-cast as 2 of them

A karaoke contest is being held, and Carey Oakie, fresh from Enid, Oklahoma, is an eager contestant. Due to a mix-up by a new assistant, the names and song selections of the contestants have been split apart, and contestants are asked to sing songs with which they may not be familiar. Carey lucks out and gets a song he (or she) can knock out of the ballpark. When it comes time to vote for the winner of the contest, though, Carey takes a swig of a drink and falls dead. A detective arrives in the second act to determine who murdered Carey and why.

There is a lot of audience interaction throughout Let's Kill Carey Oakie!, and part of the fun in the karaoke section is watching audience members attempting to make their way through songs they hadn't chosen to sing. In the interrogation section, questioning is guided to prevent uncooperative audience members from throwing off the flow.

The action takes place in a karaoke venue, with all karaoke song rights obtained by that venue or by the play's producer. A fixed list of songs can be used, if that is preferred. One or more ringers can be used as karaoke singers to ensure some consistency of the production from performance to performance.

Let's Kill Carey Oakie! can be used as a tour-de-force vehicle for an actor or actress who doubles as Carey Oakie and the detective. The role of the Emcee is the other speaking role, and he (or she) bears the brunt of guiding audience interaction in the first act. The non-speaking role of the assistant can be a comic highlight, and the interplay among the Emcee, assistant, and detective can really spark the proceedings. Consider a theme production based on a song genre, a time period, or a holiday as a fundraiser!