“This is impossible! We’ve got no motives. No suspects. We don’t know anything. Who knew solving a murder would be so hard?”
A comedy musical about two true crime podcasters thrust into a thrilling whodunnit of their own.
Music, lyrics, arrangements and original musical direction by MFJ.
Book, lyrics and co-direction by Jon Brittain.
Development and production led by Francesca Moody.
The original one-act version of Kathy & Stella Solve a Murder!, co-produced with Kater Gordon, co-directed by Fabian Aloise and starring Bronté Barbé and Rebekah Hinds, opened at the Paines Plough Roundabout at Summerhall for an award-winning sell-out run during the 2022 Edinburgh Fringe.
An expanded version returned to the festival the following year, again playing to full houses, and a 4-song EP was released on streaming services.
The full two-act show premièred at Bristol Old Vic and toured to HOME Manchester in the autumn of 2023, co-produced with Fiery Angel & Wessex Grove.
This production then transferred to the West End, playing at the Ambassadors Theatre for a 16-week run in May 2024.
An industry reading of a reimagined American version of Kathy & Stella was presented at the Manhattan Movement & Arts Center, New York in October 2025, produced by Hugo Six, directed by Christopher Gattelli and starring Sara Chase and Bonnie Milligan.
“Terrific… painfully funny”
★★★★★ Arts Desk
“A night of utter, unalloyed joy – I defy you not to fall in love with it”
★★★★★ The i
“Not only packed with super songs but fabulously underscored too… irresistible”
★★★★★ Musical Theatre Review
“A score that would rival any West End show”
★★★★★ West End Best Friend
“Unmissable”
★★★★ Daily Mail
“Brilliantly joyful”
★★★★ Evening Standard
“Bloody marvellous”
★★★★ Financial Times
“Lightning music and lyrics… packed with artistry”
★★★★ The Guardian
“Witty and irreverent”
★★★★ The List
“Fabulously macabre… the songs are definitely catchy”
★★★★ Radio Times
“Fast-paced, clever, funny and bang up to date”
★★★★ The Scotsman
“One of the big success stories at last year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe… a big, warm-hearted show at a time when people needed just that”
★★★★ The Stage
“Uproarious fun”
★★★★ Three Weeks
“Comedy gold”
★★★★ Time Out
“A certified homicidal hoot”
★★★★ WhatsOnStage
“Something good is happening when a young group, outside the established and celebrated mainstream, get together and make a show on the fringes, daring to be different, facing the perils of launching it down the slipway to fill the stalls with surprised glee” Libby Purves, Theatrecat
☆ Musical Theatre Review Award, Best Musical
☆ The Stagey Place Ed Fringe Award, Best Musical
☆ Theatre Weekly Award, Best Musical
☆ MusicalTalk, Pick of the Fringe
☆ The Stage, Best Shows of the Edinburgh Fringe
UK production:
Produced by Francesca Moody with Kater Gordon, Fiery Angel & Wessex Grove. Co-directed & choreographed by Fabian Aloise. Orchestrations & musical supervision by Charlie Ingles. Musical direction, supervision, associates & assistants: Caitlin Morgan, Andrew Hilton, Catherine Benson, Tom Mitchell, Inga Davis-Rutter. Associate direction by Charlie Martin. Dramaturgy by Gillian Greer. Set by Cecilia Carey. Lighting by Peter Small with Bethany Gupwell. Sound design by Tingying Dong & Dan Samson. Sound operation: Harvey Saunders Woolley, Karen Szameit, Ari Levy, Kieran Lucas, Paul Harfield. Costume, hair & makeup: Jade Berg, Isobel Pellow, Tevae Humphrey, Cecilia Carey. Props by Charlotte King. Stage management: Caoimhe Regan, Michael Dennis, David Purdie-Smith, Phoebe Smyth, Titch Gosling, Rosie Bannister, Vikki Chandler. Production management: Titch Gosling, Ed Borgnis. General management by Francesca Moody Productions & Richard Jones for Fiery Angel, assisted by Riona Kelly. Casting by Annelie Powell, assisted by Alice Walters. Performers: Bronté Barbé, Rebekah Hinds, Imelda Warren-Green, Elliot Broadfoot, Hannah-Jane Fox, Jodie Jacobs, TJ Lloyd, Ben Redfern, Elliotte Williams-N’Dure, Jacob Kohli, Sarah Pearson, Jennifer Caldwell, Chelsea Hall, Sorelle Marsh. Musicians: Laura Browne, Philip Williams.
US presentation:
Directed by Christopher Gattelli. Produced by Seth A. Goldstein & Isaac Robert Hurwitz for Hugo Six. Musical direction by Benedict Braxton-Smith & Adam Beskind with Henry Roseman. Associate direction by Deanna Weiner. Management by Jovan Hannah & Emily Witham for 321 Theatrical Management. Performed by Sara Chase, Bonnie Milligan, Andrew Chappelle, Alexander Gemignani, Ann Harada, Natalie Joy Johnson & Jennifer Sánchez.
Playtext published by Bloomsbury.
Images by Mihaela Bodlovic & Pamela Raith.