Laguna Playhouse to Present Orange County Debut of MURDER FOR TWO This Spring

The Laguna Playhouse Executive and Artistic Directors, Karen Wood and Ann E. Wareham are thrilled to present the Orange County premiere of the Smash-Hit, Off-Broadway musical, MURDER FOR TWO, book and music by Joe Kinosian, book and lyrics by Kellen Blair, choreography by Wendy Seyb, musical direction by David Caldwell and direction by Scott Schwartz.

"We are delighted to bring this hilarious and 'Killer' new musical to our subscribers and audiences," comments Wood.

"Two Actors, a dozen characters and a classic whodunit, all set to a marvelous new musical score, this is going to be an evening to die for," adds Wareham.

MURDER FOR TWO will begin previews on Wednesday, April 22; will open on Saturday, April 25 and runs through Sunday, May 17, 2015 at the Laguna Playhouse, 606 Laguna Canyon Road in Laguna Beach.

Everyone is a suspect in MURDER FOR TWO, a hilarious musical murder mystery with a twist: one actor investigates the crime, the other plays all of the suspects and they both play the piano! A zany blend of classic musical comedy and madcap mystery, this 90-minute whodunit is a highly theatrical duet loaded with killer laughs.

ABOUT THE CREATIVE TEAM AND CAST:

SCOTT SCHWARTZ (Director) directed Murder for Two Off-Broadway at New World Stages and Second Stage Uptown. On Broadway, he directed Golda's Balcony and Jane Eyre (co-directed with John Caird). His other Off-Broadway work includes Bat Boy: The Musical (Lucille Lortel and Outer Critics Circle Awards, Outstanding Off-Broadway Musical; Drama Desk Award nomination, Outstanding Director of a Musical), tick, tick...BOOM! (Outer Critics Circle, Outstanding Off-Broadway Musical; Drama Desk nomination, Outstanding Director of a Musical); Rooms: A Rock Romance; The Foreigner starring Matthew Broderick (Roundabout Theatre Company), Kafka's The Castle (Outer Critics Circle nomination, Outstanding Director of a Play), and No Way to Treat a Lady.

He also directed Golda's Balcony on tour, in London, in Los Angeles at the Wadsworth Theatre and in San Francisco at American Conservatory Theater. He directed the world premiere of Séance on a Wet Afternoon at Opera Santa Barbara and subsequently at New York City Opera. Schwartz's other recent credits include the US premiere of The Hunchback of Notre Dame (La Jolla Playhouse), the world premiere of Secondhand Lions (5th Avenue Theatre), the world premiere of Theresa Rebeck's What We're Up Against (Alley Theatre), Arsenic and Old Lace starring Tovah Feldshuh and Betty Buckley (Dallas Theater Center), and a re-envisioning of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (Paper Mill Playhouse, Theatre Under The Stars, Theatre on the Square and North Shore Music Theatre; 2008 IRNE Award, Outstanding Director of a Musical). He is the Artistic Director of Bay Street Theatre in Sag Harbor, NY and is a member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, an Associate Artist at the Alley Theatre, and a graduate of Harvard University.

WENDY SEYB (Choreography) RAINFOREST BENEFIT CONCERT (Carnegie Hall/Sting, Kevin Spacey, James Taylor, Renee Fleming), THE PEE WEE HERMAN SHOW (Broadway/HBO). Off-Broadway: CLICK CLACK MOO (Lortel nomination), THE TOXIC AVENGER MUSICAL (Lortel, Dora, Callaway nominations), MURDER FOR TWO. Director/Choreographer: HOW YOU LOOK AT IT (The Sacramento Ballet), BIRTHDAY SAX (Ars Nova), THAT REMINDS ME (Web Series). Shows with Disney, Cartoon Network, Richard Frankel Productions, and Nickelodeon. Narrative Dance Comedies created for short films, spec commercials, music videos, and at esteemed NYC venues including Dance Theater Workshop, Joyce SoHo, and Baryshnikov Arts Center.

DAVID CALDWELL (Musical Director) Music Director of Forbidden Broadway since 2004. He composed music and lyrics for All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten and Uh-Oh Here Comes Christmas, both based on the writing of Robert Fulghum. He conducted the American premiere of Stephen Schwartz' Children of Eden. He arranged and orchestrated Marvin Hamlisch's song "I'm Really Dancing" for Career Transitions for Dancers' 25th Anniversary Gala, featuring Angela Lansbury, Chita Rivera and Bebe Neuwirth. He is interviewed at length in Oliver Sacks' book about music and the brain, Musicophilia.

KYLE BRANZEL (The Suspects) National Tour: HENRY AND MUDGE. Regional: FOOTLOOSE (Willard), GUYS AND DOLLS (Benny), ...CHARLIE BROWN (Schroeder). As Music Director/Pianist: SEE WHAT I WANNA SEE (Steppenwolf Garage Rep), PASSING STRANGE (Bailiwick Chicago), THE FABULOUS LIPITONES (Penguin Rep Theatre), A CHORUS LINE (Timber Lake Playhouse), Sam Carner and Derek Gregor's BARELY LEGAL SHOWTUNE EXTRAV- AGANZA (Les Poisson Rouge). B.F.A. Musical Theatre from Chicago College of Performing Arts and proud AEA member. Native of Elyria, Ohio.

IAN LOWE (Marcus) is excited to be performing with the MURDER FOR TWO tour following engagements at The Old Globe, Arizona Theater Company, and The Temple Theater! Off-Broadway: MURDER FOR TWO (New World Stages), NIKOLAI & THE OTHERS (Lincoln Center Theatre), BAYONETS OF ANGST (NY Musical Theater Festival), Feste in 12TH NIGHT (Sonnet Rep). Regional: Fingers in FINGERS & TOES (Finger Lakes Musical Theater Festival, Regional Premiere), HEARTBREAKER starring Christine Andreas (Adirondack Theatre Fes- tival, Regional Premiere); plays and musicals at Capital Rep, Pittsburgh CLO, Riverside Theater, Charleston Stage, Dorset Theater Festival, Arts Center of Coastal Carolina, Ivoryton Playhouse and others. Readings and workshops at The York, Ensemble Theatre Company, Manhattan Theater Club and others. 2014 Lotte Lenya Competition Semi-Finalist. BA, Yale University

MURDER FOR TWO has assembled an award-winning design team. The Set Design is by Beowulf Boritt. The Lighting Design is by Jason Lyons. The Costume Design is by Andrea Lauer. The Sound Design is by Jill BC DuBoff. The Production Stage Manager is Katrina Olson.

MURDER FOR TWO will begin previews on Wednesday, April 22; will open on Saturday, April 25 and runs through Sunday, May 17, 2015 at the Laguna Playhouse, 606 Laguna Canyon Road in Laguna Beach. Performances will be Wednesdays, Thursdays & Fridays at 7:30pm; Saturdays at 2pm & 7:30pm; Sundays at 1pm & 5:30pm. There will be additional performances on Thursday, March 5; Thursday, March 19 & Thursday, March 26 at 2:00pm. There will be no performance on Saturday, March 7 at 2pm.

Tickets range from $41 - $66 and can be purchased online at www.lagunaplayhouse.com or by calling (949) 497-ARTS (2787). Group discounts are available by calling 949-497-2787 ext. 229. The box office is open Mondays - Sundays: 12p.m. to 5 p.m. (open until 7:30pm on performance days). LAGUNA PLAYHOUSE is located at 606 Laguna Canyon Road in Laguna Beach.

Founded in 1920, The Laguna Playhouse is one of the oldest continuously-operating not-for-profit theatres on the West Coast and is noted for its artistic excellence, wide-ranging performing arts programming, award-winning youth education offerings and community partnerships. A member of the League of Resident Theatres, the Laguna Playhouse is also home to the annual Laguna Dance Festival, the Laguna Beach Music Festival and the Laguna Beach Concert Band. The Laguna Playhouse has been recognized for excellence by the Laguna Beach Chamber of Commerce, LA Drama Critics Circle, OC Weekly and more.

Because of its longstanding commitment to the arts, the Laguna Playhouse has been recognized for excellence by the LA Drama Critics Circle, NAACP, Backstage, ArtsOC, OC Weekly, Laguna Beach Chamber of Commerce and more. Laguna Playhouse educational programming, which includes classes, productions by and for children and teens (Youth Theatre) and a school tour, has been honored by the American Alliance for Theatre and Education, Arts Orange County and the Orange County Department of Education.

Serving more than 80,000 patrons each season, the Laguna Playhouse has brought many talented performers to Southern California, including Leslie Caron, Val Kilmer, Ed Asner, Hershey Felder, Linda Purl, Davis Gaines, Donna McKechnie, Rita Rudner, Sally Struthers, Cloris Leachman, Harrison Ford and Bette Davis

Laguna Playhouse is your "go to" for a great night out--be it plays, concerts, dance, musicals, stand- up comedy, author panels, family entertainment and more. No matter what your entertainment tastes - The Laguna Playhouse - We're what's going on!

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