Murray, John. Strange Inheritance. Plays, Inc., 1979. ISBN 0823802272. Contact publisher regarding price. 24 pp. Reviewer: Holly B. Robison Reading Level: Intermediate Rating: Excellent Genre: Detective Plays; Plays; Mystery Plays; Subject: Drama--Reviews; Mystery--Juvenile drama; Money--Juvenile drama; Theme: Greed is a nasty thing Production Requirements: Simple sets and costumes Acts: 1 Run Time: 35 min. Characters: 4 Males, 4 Females Cast: Females-1 middle age, 1 ten year old, 2 20-30s; Males- 1 middle age, 3 20-30s Time Period: Present Distant relatives meet at midnight for the reading of a will of a cousin no one has seen for 35 years. Many are greedy for money and the will is full of riddles plus there is a murderer to reveal. Then they all find out that the cousin did not die, but was really the lawyer reading the will. This play reminds one of a simpler version of The Westing Game. It has an air of mystery, but is not too complicated. Children will easily follow the twists and turns of the plot. There are characters that children can relate to, like Mareen, the ten year old. Many of the characters are trying to be something they are not. It is fun to discover who everyone really is. It would be easy to incorporate some audience interaction with this script. It wraps everything up in a good amount of time. This would also be a fun play for children to perform.
