BWW Reviews: MURDER FOR TWO a Devious Delight at the Geffen
By: Don Grigware Jun. 05, 2015
Murder for Two/book by Joe Kinosian and Kellen Blair/music by Joe Kinosian/lyrics by Kellen Blair/directed by Scott Schwartz/Geffen Playhouse, Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater/already extended through August 2
No surprise that the little musical comedy with a big bang, Murder for Two by Joe Kinosian and Kellen Blair took off-Broadway by storm in 2013! Described as "a musical comedy with a dash of Agatha Christie", it actually defies classification. Yes, it has music and a murder mystery plot and is screamingly funny, but it's a whole lot more. Only two performers provide as much or more entertainment than a big over-produced, full cast Broadway show. It covers a lot of ground in 100 minutes, and with Jeff Blumenkrantz playing a bevy of suspects, both male and female, Brett Ryback essaying officer Marcus Moskowitz, who is determined to be promoted to detective by the end of the play - both of whom play the piano with a feverish passion - and guided by director Scott Schwartz's super-fast pace and frenetic staging, it's like a roller coaster barreling along that could at any second lose control, but never does. Now onstage at the Geffen Playhouse, audiences will be thrilled and bedazzled through August 2.
The two actors duel and feed off each other with amazing alacrity, and at times it's not easy to determine if the two aren't perhaps joined at the hip. At the piano they both try to occupy the bench competing ferociously for control of the keys, or vocally one mouth moves in lipsync as voice emanates from the other: only two examples of an incredible unison. Needless to say, it requires split-second timing and a rare theatrical comaraderie which Ryback and Blumenkrantz have in spades. Sparks of the chemistry between Harvey Korman and Tim Conway, always bent on tearing up the scenery at any cost!
Kinosian and Blair have fashioned an old-time mystery whose key word is variety. They allude to every method of murder conceivable. Guns, knives, rope, poisoned tea cups, you name it, everything gets thrown in here and meshed around as in a witch's brew. Ryback's officer bent on becoming a detective follows protocol to the letter, and Blumenkrantz as each character uses every trick in the book to throw him off the trail, like the elusive Barrett Lewis, prima ballerina, pirouetting across the stage or niece Stephanie the criminologist trying desperately to seduce him. Blumenkrantz as all the suspects makes no costume changes, but in the blink of an eye, converts from host Arthur Whitney to his flustered wife to a neighbor who sounds remarkably like Jimmy Stewart to Lewis to Steph and back and forth in a whirlwind of minor facial and vocal alterations with next to no props. His is a remarkable performance and he is so much fun to watch from second to second, as one never knows what's coming next. And of course, this unpredictability steals the show and seals its success.
Utilizing director Schwartz's slick moves, actors Blumenkrantz and Ryback work deliriously from moment to moment. There's hardly a pause, but when there is, what joy it brings! Steph sees how desperate Marcus is, how much he needs a partner of the opposite sex... and tones down to exult in it. There's a delightfully dynamic eleventh hour song for Blumenkrantz draped in a boa on top of the piano as Mrs. Whitney and of course, a tune of friendship for the two leading players that is a takeoff on buddy songs like "Bosom Buddies", from Mame "You and Me" from Victor/Victoria or "Till Him" from The Producers. There is one very funny scene with audience participation - again when it is least expected, and the two actors break the fourth wall more than once, making this madcap theatrical adventure a loving ode to the theatre. Beowulf Borritt's scenic design suits the theatrical mood perfectly, and let's credit Jill BC Du Boff for some delicious sound effects like glasses crashing to the floor and cups being set in place. Fun little extras that make each moment extra special!
It's a crime to miss Murder for Two! What a deviously fun diversion!
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