It’s hard to believe, but MURDER FOR TWO opens next week at the Plaza Theatre! Because we’re nine days away from opening, we wanted to share 9 reasons we’re looking forward to this hilarious show. Are you ready? Here goes the countdown…
9) The show’s set and props incorporate every murder weapon from the classic board game, Clue!
Yes, every single weapon. That means there’s a knife, a gun, rope, a lead pipe, a candlestick, and a wrench featured somewhere in the show. I’ll be on the lookout for each of them as the show progresses!
8) Watching the actors transform from character to character is just plain fun!
See a great example in this selection from “A Lot Woise” from the show.
7) MURDER FOR TWO is still a really new musical!
In Oklahoma, we’re really familiar with a lot of the tried and true standards of musical theatre. We’re also familiar with getting large scale national tours. But we rarely get to see cutting edge, off-Broadway kind of shows- that’s exactly what MURDER FOR TWO is! How often do we get that chance?
6) It’s only 90 minutes!
OK, we know; a lot of wonderful musicals are 3 hours, or more. (I’m looking at you, THE KING AND I.) Those shows are wonderful and very enjoyable. But, sometimes, you just want something bite sized. MURDER FOR TWO is only 90 minutes, and has no intermission. That’s the perfect short treat!
5) The show has something for everyone!
The writers credit Agatha Christie, The Simpsons, and Frank Loesser as inspriations for the show. I can’t think of anybody I know who don’t like at least one of those things.
Ian Lowe and Kyle Branzel. Photo by Jim Cox.
4) The characters are all larger than life!
What’s a murder mystery without eccentric characters? In MURDER FOR TWO, you have an ambitious young policeman, a slightly mental widow who used to be an actress, an older couple who hates each others’ guts, a very overeager graduate student, three members of a boys’ choir, your friendly neighborhood psychiatrist, and a ballerina who is a lot more dangerous than she looks. Did I mention all these characters are in one room and interacting with each other? It makes for some very fun conversations and set ups.
3) Who doesn’t enjoy some good slapstick humor?
The writers were also inspired by the Marx Brothers. A bad pun, a perfectly placed sound effect- those all tickle my fancy. MURDER FOR TWO is loaded with this kind of humor.
2) It’s a tour de force by two crazy talented actors!
I’m tired from just watching the video previews of this show. Playing the piano isn’t easy. Performing isn’t easy. Performing multiple roles is really hard. Doing all that at once? Phew. But you won’t see these guys droop- Ian and Kyle have boundless energy. Watching them perform this show is a master class in how to keep an audience engaged.
1) The show isn’t a spectacle; rather, it’s a simple mystery at heart, told using two guys and a piano.
I LOVE spectacular theatre- for example, a cast of 100+ singing “One Day More” from LES MISÉRABLES, or a huge chorus erupting into a large tap number. On the other hand, I also love a show that, at its core, is about a fun story and actors telling it really well. MURDER FOR TWO is not a show that has a grandiose set, or a huge orchestra, or a large dance number. It’s a show that lets its quirks- two guys playing all the roles and the piano, a hilarious script and score- shine. I rally respect those kinds of shows too, and find them deeply satisfying- I think you will too.
Ian Lowe and Joe Kinosian. Photo by Joan Marcus.
Why are you looking forward to MURDER FOR TWO? Share with us on our Facebook or Twitter pages- we might just repost our favorite answers.