The Lyric Stage Announces Cast, Creative Team for MURDER FOR TWO

The Lyric Stage Company of Boston announces cast and creative team for MURDER FOR TWO, with Book & Music by Joe Kinosian and Book & Lyrics by Kellen Blair. Directed by A. Nora Long with Music Director Bethany Aiken, the production runs November 25 - December 24, 2016, with a press opening slated for Sunday, November 27, 3pm.

Everyone is a suspect! In this hilarious musical mystery, one actor plays the detective and one actor plays all the suspects . . . and they both play the piano! This witty, winking homage to old-fashioned closed-room murder mysteries (think Clue!) is a delirious gift for two multi-talented actors, and its blend of music and mayhem will be a delicious treat for the holidays.

Featuring: Kirsten Salpini, Jared Troilo*.

Scenic Design, Shelley Barish; Costume Design, Tobi Rinaldi; Lighting Design, Heather Crocker; Sound Design, Andrew Duncan Will; Dialect Coach, Bryn Austin.

*Member of Actors' Equity Association (AEA)

IF YOU GO:

MURDER FOR TWO

WHEN: November 25 - December 24, 2016

Wednesdays, Thursdays - 7:30pm

Wednesday matinees - 2pm, November 30, December 21

Fridays - 8pm

Saturdays - 3pm & 8pm

Sundays - 3pm

Post-show Q&A with the artists: November 27, December 11 after 3pm performance

WHERE: The Lyric Stage, 140 Clarendon Street, Copley Square, Boston, MA 02116

TICKETS: Start at $25; Seniors - $10 off regular price; Student rush - $10; Group rates available

BOX OFFICE: 617-585-5678 | lyricstage.com

ABOUT THE ARTISTS:

Joe Kinosian (Book and Music), is the co-recipient of Chicago's Joseph Jefferson Award recognizing Murder for Two as Best New Musical following its record-breaking run at Chicago Shakespeare Theater; Joe was also nominated for Best Actor as The Suspects. Murder for Two had its Off-Broadway premiere at Second Stage Uptown, going on to a year'long run at New World Stages. Joe's work with Kellen Blair has been showcased at The Kennedy Center, The York Theater, and on Broadway at the Theatre World Awards. Joe received the ASCAP Foundation Mary Rodgers/Lorenz Hart Award and the Harrington Award from the BMI Workshop. Joe also appeared in Dirty Blonde with Emily Skinner (Hangar Theater) and the NYC premiere of Dear Edwina Off-Broadway. kinosianandblair.com

Kellen Blair (Book and Lyrics) is the Drama Desk nominated co-creator of Murder for Two (Off-Broadway: Second Stage Theatre and new World Stages. World premiere: Chicago Shakespeare Theater). Kellen and co-writer Joe Kinosian are the recipients of the Joseph Jefferson Award for Best New Musical Work in Chicago (2011) and the ASCAP Foundation Mary Rodgers/Lorenz Hart Award (2013). Their work has been showcased on Broadway, the Kennedy Center, and theaters across the country. Kellen is excited to be developing a new musical farce with Joe titled The More Things Change; he's also working with Broadway composer Larry Grossman on a new show called Scrooge in Love. Updates, videos, song demos, and sheet music can be found at kinosianandblair.com. A huge thank you to the most supportive family ever!

A. Nora Long (Director) is the associate artistic director at the Lyric Stage where she directed Mr. Burns, a post-electric play, Dear Elizabeth and assistant directed 33 Variations. In addition to work at the Lyric, Nora is one of the artistic directors for New Exhibition Room, a local fringe company that specializes in developing cheeky, ensemble-created new work. She has directed and led the creation of several projects with NXR including Shh!, an exploration on the role of censorship which attended the New York International Fringe Festival after a sold-out run in Boston; The Paper Bag Princess, an all-ages show, Midnight at the Last Night Cabaret and EEP! Show. Other recent directing credits include Cymbeline, Macbeth (Commonwealth Shakespeare Company Apprentice Program), Noises Off! Ruthless: the Musical! (Hackmatack Playhouse), Three (Boston Public Works), The Real Thing, Someone Who'll Watch Over Me (Bad Habit Productions) and Candyland (New Exhibition Room). She received her MFA in Dramaturgy from The American Repertory Theatre/ Moscow Art Theatre School Institute for Advanced Theatre Training at Harvard University and her BA from Sarah Lawrence College in theatre and Italian.

Kirsten Salpini (The Suspects) is making her Lyric Stage debut. She is currently performing in The Donkey Show (Oberon, American Repertory Theater) and recently appeared in The Snow Queen (New Rep). Kirsten spent some time on the East Coast as a dueling pianist, and is working on her second album as a singer/songwriter. Originally from Fairfax, VA, Kirsten has a B.F.A. from Shenandoah Conservatory in Winchester, VA. She loves living in Boston, but occasionally misses central air conditioning and country music. kirstensalpini.com

Jared Troilo* (Marcus) returns to the Lyric Stage having appeared in last season's My Fair Lady. Favorite New England credits include Significant Other, Dogfight, Far From Heaven (SpeakEasy Stage), The Little Mermaid, A Little Princess (Fiddlehead Theatre), West Side Story, Godspell, Les Misérable (Palace Theatre, Manchester, NH), The Drowsy Chaperone, Das Barbecü (Barnstormers Theatre). Next up: Billy Elliot (Wheelock Family Theater). He received his B.F.A. from The Boston Conservatory and is a proud member of AEA. Love to Mom, Dad, and Kira. jaredtroilo.wix.com/jaredtroilo

Bethany Aiken (Music Director) is making her Lyric Stage debut. She has served as music director for over 70 productions, including Lucky Stiff, Lobster Girl, Sweet Charity, Christmas on the Air, Meet Me in St. Louis, Something's Afoot (Stoneham Theatre), James and the Giant Peach, Wonderful Town, Love's Labour's Lost, Picnic at Hanging Rock, Bernarda Alba (Stoneham young company), Songs for a New World (Gloucester Stage), Marry Me a Little (NextDoor Theater), Night of the Living Dead the Musical (NYC premiere), Ring of Fire (Rocky Mountain Repertory), and four seasons at New Hampshire's Weathervane Theatre, where favorite shows included Rent, Violet, Hairspray, Sweeney Todd, Hair, Ragtime, and Legally Blonde. She also composed music for original productions of Little Red and the Wolf, Rumpelstiltskin, and The Wizard of Magic Island. Bethany is a staff accompanist at The Boston Conservatory and holds degrees from Oberlin College (B.A., English and Music History/Theory) and Emerson College (M.F.A., Creative Writing).

David Connolly (Choreographer) returns to the Lyric Stage after choreographing last season's production of My Fair Lady. Other Boston credits include choreography for Violet, Far from Heaven,and Xanadu (SpeakEasy Stage), and direction/choreography for The Drowsy Chaperone (SpeakEasy Stage, IRNE Award, Best Director of a Musical). David is a member of the Musical Theatre faculty at the Boston Conservatory at Berklee, and the Theatre faculty at Suffolk University.

Bryn Austin (Dialect Coach) returns to the Lyric Stage where she served as dialect coach for Peter and the Starcatcher, Saturday Night/Sunday Morning, Intimate Apparel, Sweeney Todd, Groundswell, and Blithe Spirit, and appeared in Dead Man's Cell Phone. Selected regional coaching credits include Catch Me If You Can (Boston Conservatory at Berklee), Cabaret (Palace Theater of Manchester), Translations (Boston College), Private Fears in Public Places and My Wonderful Day (Zeitgeist Stage Company), Top Girls (Apron Theater), and Mary Poppins (New England Youth Theater). Bryn teaches speech, phonetics, and accents and dialects at Boston Conservatory at Berklee. brynaustin.com

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