Dick Piston, Hotel Detective

a murder-mystery serial comedy with gratuitous sex and violence and a cliff-hanger ending every ten minutes

copyright © 1998

"Anyone who enjoys the silliness of 1950's Dick Tracy comics, or the comic bumbling of an Inspector Clouseau, will enjoy the shenanigans of Dick Piston's adventures."
---Daily Herald Tribune

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The Dick Piston plays are short comic murder-mysteries suitable for late-night theatre. Each play is written in 10-minute "episodes", and each episode has a cliff-hanger ending.

Larry and the Werewolf
(21 episodes - 210 minutes)
Cast: 16
The original Dick Piston epic! The investigation of a routine hotel suicide puts Dick Piston on the trail of a were-suspect.
- The Death of Dick Piston - [a sequel to "Larry and the Werewolf"]
  (6 episodes - 60 minutes)
  The werewolf is on the loose again, but first Piston has to solve his own murder!
- Revenge of the Infinite Centurion - [the conclusion to the "Larry and the Werewolf" saga]
  (6 episodes - 60 minutes)
  Can Dick Piston prevent 2000 years of murder and intrigue from ruining Larry Fingers' wedding? ...Probably not.
- For the Love of Helga - [the real conclusion to the "Larry and the Werewolf" saga]
  (6 episodes - 60 minutes)
  The ghosts are piling up as Dick Piston races to solve the Crime of the Century. The First Century!
Prague-nosis!
(9 episodes - 90 minutes)
Cast: 3m 2f
Piston has a new case when the hotel is infiltrated by Czech jewel thieves and French porn stars.
Cosmetic Perjury
(7 episodes - 70 minutes)
Cast: 1m 2f
It's convention season at the Lakeview Hotel and Dick Piston goes after killer clones and topless co-eds run amuck at a genetics symposium.
Murder By Midnight
(1 episode - 10 minutes)
Cast: 2m 1f
Piston's job is on the line when he has only 10 minutes to solve a brutal shower murder before quitting time.
Prosthesis: Murder!
(2 episodes - 20 minutes)
Cast: 4m 2f
Retirement doesn't come easy for Dick Piston, as the ghost of his first botched case follows him to a sleepy little bed-and-breakfast where he's gone to escape the big city.
Murder She Skyped
(9 episodes - 90 minutes)
Cast: 4m 4f
There's murder on the agenda when Dick Piston teleconferences into a homicidal staff meeting.
Bloodbath: A Drowning
(1 episode - 10 minutes)
Cast: 2m 1f
Even posthumously, Dick Piston (almost) always gets his man (eventually).

Prague-nosis! and Cosmetic Perjury are published in The Messy Adventures of Dick Piston, Hotel Detective (from Baker's Plays)

Larry and the Werewolf, The Death of Dick Piston, Revenge of the Infinite Centurion and For the Love of Helga are published in Larry and the Werewolf (from Broadway Play Publishing)

Murder By Midnight is a Finalist for the 2008 Heideman Award (Actors Theatre of Louisville)