FLAMINGO BLUES

The Story

Flamingo Blues is set in Chicago in 1952. A serial killer is stalking the streets of the city leaving differing amounts of money in dollar bills in each victim’s mouth. The police are hot on his trail, but they seem to be chasing in circles. With the press hounding him for a story, Police Chief Mike Branning is desperate to find the killer. But what lengths will he go to in order to get his man?

All the evidence seems to point to a South Side nightclub, The Blue Flamingo and its owner Earl Frasier. Renowned throughout the city as an underworld boss, Earl seems to be prime suspect… but everything is not as it seems.

The story darkens when victim number four is killed. The dead girl is Annie Lowitz, a camera girl at the Blue Flamingo Club. But there is something different about her. She is the first female victim… and best friend of Velma Winston, secretary to private eye Sam Malloy.

World weary and down beat, Malloy is a classic private detective. As a favour to Velma – and since the cops don’t seem to be able to crack the case – Malloy decides to see if he can do better.

A natural charmer, Malloy is a hit with the ladies but never lets them get too close. He has a heart but he prefers to keep it to himself. Malloy thinks he has seen it all, but in taking on the case at the Blue Flamingo, he finds more than he bargained for when he meets the glamorous Miss Gloria Devine…

Star of the Blue Flamingo and with all the qualifications for a classic femme fatale, could Gloria be the one who finally steals Malloy’s heart?

But who is the mysterious killer and what do the dollar bills mean?

Is Earl the killer, or is someone else moving in on his territory?

And will Malloy discover the truth before he becomes the killer’s next victim…

Origins of the play

Flamingo Blues began life as an independent film, which writer Victoria Howell and director Robbi Stevens produced in 2002. Following the film’s positive reception, they have adapted the screenplay into an original stage production. Taking its inspiration from the film noir genre of the 1940s and 50s, Flamingo Blues is the first stage musical of its kind, and one which has already had a great deal of interest from the industry

Using noir archetypes, Flamingo Blues tells an intriguing story of power and corruption, murder and double cross in a contemporary take on a classic style.