The Last Garden Party; or How a Lady Keeps Her Poise Around Corpses

For the 40th MMP show, The Last Garden Party; or How a Lady Keeps Her Poise Around Corpses was the 2026 Revival of 2016’s popular The Last Garden Party, a Victorian murder mystery tea party where aristocratic guests (and their shady servants) untangle the problem of a skeleton showing up uninvited in the croquet lawn.

England at the turn of the twentieth century was a period of peace, prosperity, and cloying politeness. In the year 1900, as Victoria’s record-shattering reign eased toward its end, the young second wife of “the only wealthy peer left in England,” Phoebe Walliscroft, throws a garden party at their country estate to celebrate midsummer while her husband is abroad. But her party is not going according to plan. First, the village peerage doesn’t respect her since she’s “just an American.” Second, the festivities are dominated by Phoebe’s new and eccentric in-laws. Third, there’s a skeleton under the croquet set…just as they were about play a game! As her troublesome in-laws-turned-suspects trade witticisms, insults, and suspicions, Phoebe and the rest of her guests attempt to piece together this puzzling problem…before this garden party becomes their last. A revival of the 2016 classic, the new production will feature a revised script with new characters and a brand-new solution to figure out!

Status: AVAILABLE

Body Count: 2

Mechanics: Ensemble show requiring 8 actors. Standard mystery play in two acts. Features two endings–“Good Prevails” and “Evil Triumphant”–which are dependent on how well the audience solves the mystery.