by Patricia Milton
Directed by Morgan Duncan

The Victorian Ladies’ Detective Collective Returns
November 20-December 14, 2025 (Press/Opening: November 23, 2025 at 2:30 pm)

The Victorian Ladies ARE BACK – and yes, there’s another murder. The tenacious Detective Collective, sisters Loveday and Valeria, with American actress Katie, take on a new murder case to sleuth. Soon, the clues lead them into a dangerous web of anarchists and religious fanatics, immigrants being scapegoated, and ultimately Katie accused as the prime suspect. It’s their most daring caper yet! Welcoming back Stage Guild’s Escape from the Asylum cast and director. Area Premiere.

“[A] FAST-PACED CAPER…DELIGHTS WITH SUSPENSE AND CUNNING, spotlighting the strength of female camaraderie.” – Front Row Review

“PLENTY OF SLY POLITICAL AND FEMINIST WIT from the ever-clever Ms. Milton” – TheatreStorm

Our cast…

Jen Furlong returns to WSG to reprise the role of Loveday in the Victorian Ladies’ play series. Prior to the VLDC, her previous credits include An Enemy of the People at Greenbriar Valley Theatre opposite Stuart Margolin and plays at Round House Theatre, Woolly Mammoth, Studio Theatre, Rep Stage, Everyman Theatre, Theatre IV, Arena Stage, Kennedy Center, Ford’s Theatre, American Century Theatre and Circus Millennia. Jen is the author of the bestselling YA supernatural adventures Hidden City and Tattooed Angel, the middle grade series Meredith’s World and picture book Mrs. Cheesely Loves Cheese. She co-wrote the yet-to-premiere theatrical circus Circus of Night with Neil Gaiman.

Laura Giannarelli is a Stage Guild founding company member who has performed in more than 40 WSG productions including The Victorian Ladies Detective Collective, Major Barbara, Gulf View Drive, and See Rock City in recent seasons. She directed this season’s Shaw’s Shorts, last year’s season opener Dorothy’s Dictionary, and previously, The Good Doctor, It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play, Widowers’ Houses and Candida.

Maddie Baylor is a recent college graduate who is making her D.C. theatre debut in Escape From the Asylum. Maddie attended the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Virginia, where she earned a degree in both English literature and theatre. At her alma mater, she performed in Julius Caesar, Pride and Prejudice, The Play That Goes Wrong and Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express. More recently, she has been dabbling in musical theatre, in Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical, and a musically-equipped version of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. When Maddie is not working onstage, she is immersing herself in other positions within the theatre world and this past fall, worked at Ford’s Theatre as the personal assistant to Scott Bakula, during their production of Mister Lincoln.

Ta’Neesha Murphy is a Washington D.C. native and SUNY Purchase BFA Acting Alumni. She is excited to be joining the Victorian Ladies trilogy with its twists and turns. Ta’Neesha has been a cast member in the world premiere of Cullud Wattah at The Public as the understudy for Reesee and Plum, as well as originated the role of Marlene in Theatre Rows showcase of Gas. With a past TV credit on Random Acts of Flyness (recurring/HBO) and an upcoming feature film credit in Angie by Mirta Desir. Accused is Ta’Neesha’s DC theatre debut, an exciting moment as a DC native.

Steven Carpenter performed most recently in last season’s The Victorian Ladies Detective Collective, and prior to that with WSG, Ben Butler, Memoirs of a Forgotten Man, Bloomsday, Hard Times, Pygmalion, and The Philanderer (Helen Hayes Award nomination) along with numerous others. His directing credits include this season’s Faithless, as well as An Unbuilt Life, Major Barbara, Sam & Dede, Resolving Hedda, Red Herring, Opus, and The Underpants, among others. Other area productions include God of Carnage at Compass Rose, The Cripple of Inishmaan at 1st Stage, The Price and ART at Bay Theatre, Barrymore, Hysteria, and Trumbo for Rep Stage, and The Chosen at Theater J. He received a Helen Hayes nomination for his production of Thief River at Theatre Alliance and was a recipient of the Mary Goldwater Award for Directing. A third Helen Hayes nomination came for providing the onstage sound effects for the Guild’s It’s A Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play.