The Boy Detective Fails is the fourth novel by Chicago author Joe Meno, released by Punk Planet Books in 2006.
In the twilight of a childhood full of wonder, Billy Argo, boy detective, is brokenhearted to find his young sister and crime-solving partner, Caroline, has committed suicide. Ten years later, Billy, age thirty, returns from an extended stay at Shady Glens Facility for Mental Competence to discover a world full of unimaginable strangeness: office buildings vanish without reason, small animals turn up without their heads, and cruel villains ride city buses to complete their evil schemes.
Lost within this unwelcoming place, Billy finds the companionship of two lonely children, Effie and Gus Mumford—one a science fair genius, the other a charming, silent bully. With a nearly forgotten bravery, Billy confronts the monotony of his job in telephone sales, the awkward beauty of a desperate pickpocket named Penny Maple, and the seemingly impossible solution to the mystery of his sister's death. Along a path laden with hidden clues and codes that dare to be deciphered, the boy detective may learn the greatest secret of all: the necessity of the unknown.
Author Joe Meno collaborated with composer and lyricist Adam Gwon to adapt the novel into a musical of the same name, which premiered in August–October 2011 at the Signature Theatre (Arlington, Virginia).
Nine years after the run at Signature Theatre, director/playwright Aaron Posner directed a new version of the musical at American University's Greenberg Theatre for a four-show run from February 13–15, 2020. This new version was developed in workshop with Joe Meno and Adam Gwon, and featured cuts, edits, new songs, and an adjusted plot/storyline.[1]
Note: These are characters that appear only in the musical version, and are listed as so from the Characters section of the script.
| Billy Argo | Stephen Gregory Smith | Spencer Coben | |
| Caroline Argo | Margo Seibert | Emma Wallach | |
| Fenton Mills | James Gardiner | Patrick Donoughe | |
| Professor Von Golum | Thomas Adrian Simpson | Ally Baca | |
| Penny / Ensemble | Anika Larsen | Madison Greene | |
| Larry / Mr. Mammoth / Ensemble | Harry A. Winter | Ross Bollinger | |
| Detective Brown / Ensemble | Russell Simpson | Janie Goheen | |
| Dale Hardly / Ensemble | Evan Casey | Graciela Rey | |
| Violet Dew / Ensemble | Tracy Lynn Olivera | Bekah Zornosa | |
| Nurse Eloise / Ensemble | Kacy Sullivan | ||
| Therapist / Ensemble | Sherri L. Edelen | Sultana Qureshi | |
| Ensemble | Dominic Brunaccioni, Zach Dore, Daniella Ignacio, Natasha Sookrah, Kelsey Walker |
Act 1
Act 2