Enter the World of Noir with
Smoking Gun

Welcome to Los Angeles.

The year is 1932. People come to The Coconut Lounge to forget their troubles, but sometimes trouble follows them there. Mobster Nino Frank owns the club and he has promised his increasingly less patient "almost fiance" Gilda Graham that her engagement ring will contain the Burmese Bauble -- the world's most valuable diamond. When the Bauble comes up missing, Gilda hires local private detective Sam Spade to find it. As Sam delves into the case, he encounters uncooperative police officers, a high ranking member of the movie industry, showgirls with agendas, a secretary who mails away all his important documents, a partner who doesn't seem to have his back, an interesting mix of club regulars, and his ex-wife looking for more alimony. Such is the background for GreenMan's upcoming production of Smoking Gun by Carl Zeitler and Carolyn Thomas-Davidoff.

Smoking Gun is GreenMan's ninth such murder mystery production. Thomas-Davidoff and Zeitler, who are members of GreenMan's board of trustees, have co-written the two previous productions Here's Looking at You...Dead and How the West Was Done In. Whereas those productions respectively parodied Casablanca/ World War II and Hollywood westerns/the 1960's, this year's original premiere tackles classic film noirs, such as The Maltese Falcon, Double Indemnity, The Lady from Shanghai, Angels with Dirty Faces, and Laura. This production, like the ones before it, takes place at Angelo's Ristorante in Elmhurst. The banquet hall becomes The Coconut Lounge and the audience members become patrons of the club as the show unfolds around them. One of the characters in the show will be bumped off during the evening. This interactive style of theatre features songs from the period, dance numbers, comedy, suspense, and a chance for the audience to vote for whom they think committed the murder. The audience is also welcome to get into the act and dress up in the style of the 1930's, but it is not a requirement to attend. If that wasn't enough, the evening also includes a full-course family style Italian meal. Audience members who guess the killer correctly have a chance at a prize and a prize goes to the most creative costume of the evening.

Purchase Tickets Here Today!
Smoking Gun features Richard Bucchi, Marilyn Connolly, Derek Dillon, Vicky Giannini, Jimmy Harper, Tom Hughes, Courtney Knysch, Stan Kosek, Carolyn Larsen, Grace Martinez, Valerie Meachum, Shazad Mehta, Jerry Moore, Emily Nelson, Amanda Raudabaugh, Alice Rebecchi, James Silverstein, Erick Sosa, Carl Zeitler, and Jim Zervas.

Tickets are now on sale for performances on February 22, 23, March 1, 2, 3. Friday and Saturday shows begin at 7 PM with a social hour at 6 PM that includes a cash bar and actors in character mingling with the audience as they arrive. The Sunday show begins at 6 PM with the social hour at 5 PM.

The actors also mingle with the crowd as their characters during the show at the meal breaks.

Angelo's Ristorante is at 247 N. York in Elmhurst. Tickets are $50 per person and includes the show and the dinner. Free parking is available. Reservations must be made in advance and can be done by calling 630-464-2646 or by clicking here. 


GreenMan programs are partially funded by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency.